Pomphorhynchus bosniacus, Kiskaroly and Cankovic, 1967

Reier, Susanne, Sattmann, Helmut, Schwaha, Thomas, Harl, Josef, Konecny, Robert & Haring, Elisabeth, 2019, An integrative taxonomic approach to reveal the status of the genus Pomphorhynchus Monticelli, 1905 (Acanthocephala: Pomphorhynchidae) in Austria, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 8, pp. 145-155 : 150

3.1.3. Pomphorhynchus bosniacus

Adult and subadult specimens of a morphologically different species were found in fish obtained from the Danube ( Table 1). This species was found in high numbers (n = 186) in Barbus barbus and in one individual a mass occurrence (“polyhelminthiasis”) was observed. Moreover, subadult specimens belonging to this species were obtained from other fish species ( Table 1). Twenty-six specimens were examined and measured. The proboscis had a cylindrical shape ( Fig. 2 B). The five anterior hooks were stouter than the posterior ones and their number was constant in each individual, while the number of the posterior hooks varied from three to four hooks per row ( Fig. 2 E). The basal hooks on the proboscis were attached in the center of the root. The hook roots were also visible under the light microscope in fixed material, while, e.g., the hook root extensions of P. tereticollis were not visible after fixation. Hooks number four and five had a clearly stouter appearance than the anterior three hooks ( Fig. 2 B). The last circle of hooks was located on the anterior part of the bulb ( Fig. 2 B). The number of longitudinal rows of hooks differed from 14 to 16 longitudinal rows (in three sectioned specimens). The females were slightly larger than the males. Table 2 provides measurements of trunk size, neck length, bulb diameter, proboscis length and hook length from 17 female specimens (five adults, twelve subadults) and nine males (five adults, four subadults). Furthermore, in several specimens additional measurements of lemnisci, testes and cement glands were taken ( Table 2). Eggs were elliptic in shape and were 83.4–89.1 (86.5) μm × 15.5–18.9 (16.5) μm. Furthermore, three different neck bulb shapes were determined as described by Kiskároly and Čanković (1967). Although the specimens of this study were slightly smaller in size than P. bosniacus described by Kiskároly and Čanković (1967), the size and arrangement of the hooks, the length of the proboscis and the bulb variations ( Kiskároly and Čanković, 1967; Moravec, 2004) suggest that the Austrian specimens of the Danube belong to the same species.