A check-list of nonenteric macroparasites of killifish (minnows) from Kent Island, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

Killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus, F. majalis, F. diaphanus and Cyprinodon variegatus) were collected 8 times from June to August, 1987. Each was examined externally for exoparasites and opened to examine the coelomic cavity. Ninety-seven of the 1,092 killifish were infected with at least one parasite. Cestodes were found in both F. heteroclitus and F. majalis. Eleven specimens of the nematode, Eustrongylides, infected F. heteroclitus. Eustrongylides is a potential human parasite if bait fish are eaten raw. Six adults of an undescribed species of Floridosentis (Acanthocephala) were found in the coelomic cavity of C. variegatus. The animals apparently bore through the gut wall in response to the death of the host. The copepods (Argulus funduli) and the leech (M. lugubris) infected all four species of killifish.