Fatal Eustrongylidosis in a Young Wild Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) from Japan

Abstract

A young male little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), caught at Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan in December 1995, died of a severe infection with Eustrongylides tubifex Jägerskiöld 1909 (Nematoda:Dioctophymatoidea). Numerous nematodes were found in the lumen of the proventriculus, attaching to the mucosa, and some were penetrating into muscle layer. Histopathologically, severe inflammation was found around the nematodes. E. tubifex may be one of factors contributing to the mortality of wild little grebes.