Female-biased sex ratio is a common phenomenon in parasites; however, the cause and consequence of the skewed sex ratio is less well known. Here, we studied the difference in sex ratio, a possible mechanism responsible for the development of unbalanced proportion of sexes and its consequences on sexual size dimorphism, between 3 louse species parasitizing the house sparrow Passer domesticus. Philopterus fringillae was more prevalent than Sturnidoecus refractariolus and Brueelia cyclothorax. As expected, the most common species, which was probably least affected by isolation and, hence, inbreeding, was characterized by a balanced sex ratio, whereas the 2 other species with low prevalence were significantly more female biased than expected on the basis of the local mate competition hypothesis. Further, in support of this notion, we found that P. fringillae infrapopulation size significantly, and positively, correlated with the sex ratio. Finally, we found significant differences in sexual dimorphism among the 3 louse species and, as expected, the relative size of males was smallest in species with a more female-biased sex ratio.

Summary The European polecat (Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758) is in decline in Romania, often living near human settlements, from mountains to lowlands. They feed on a wide variety of small animals, including rodents, such as mice or rats. The occurrence of this parasite in polecats from Romania was mentioned only once in 1991, but the parasite species was not confirmed by molecular biology. The study aimed to investigate the occurrence of Trichinella spp. in European polecats from Romania and to identify the parasite species by molecular tools. A total of 75 wild European polecats were examined by trichinoscopy and artificial digestion. A large number of animals were examined because of their wide distribution in Romanian territory and their presence near human settlements. For species determination, the positive muscle samples and the larvae recovered from artificial digestion were collected for DNA isolation and further processed by means of Multiplex PCR. Only two polecats from southern Romania tested positive for Trichinella spp. infection. During trichinoscopy examination, 48 (in a polecat from Giurgiu County) and 78 (in a polecat from Ialomița County) cysts were found in the tested (56 samples/animal) tissue samples. Artificial digestion revealed infection with 2466 larvae/100 g of muscle in the polecat from Ialomița and 254/100 g in the polecat from Giurgiu. The Multiplex PCR indicated the occurrence of Trichinella spiralis in the polecat from Giurgiu and a co-infection with T. spiralis and T. britovi in the polecat from Ialomița. The current study confirms through molecular biology, the occurrence of T. spiralis and T. britovi, as well as the occurrence of co-infection with these two Trichinella species in European polecats from Romania.

One species of the louse genus Philopterus Nitzsch, 1818 is redescribed and illustrated: Philopterus acrocephalus Carriker, 1949 ex Acrocephalus luscinius (Quoy & Gaimard, 1830), A. melanopogon (Temminck, 1823), A. scirpaceus (Hermann, 1804), A. schoenobaenus (Linnaeus, 1758), Iduna aedon rufescens Stegmann, 1929, I. rama (Sykes, 1832), Locustella sp. and L. ochotensis (von Middendorff, 1853). Philopterus acrocephalus represents the first species of the Philopterus-complex recorded in the family Locustellidae Bonaparte, 1854. Philopterus gustafssoni sp. nov. is described ex Regulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758), R. regulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758), R. regulus azoricus Seebohm, 1883, R. regulus buturlini von Loudon, 1911, R. regulus sanctaemariae Vaurie, 1954, R. regulus tristis Pleske, 1892 and R. ignicapillus (Temminck, 1820). Descriptions of both species are amended with genetic data, DNA sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I, nuclear hyp and TMEDE6; concatenated sequences are compared to the morphologically nearest species with genetic data available, Philopterus citrinellae (Schrank, 1776) and Philopterus fringillae (Scopoli, 1772). Holotype of Philopterus reguli (Denny, 1842) is pronounced to be a straggler, determination of other known material from Regulidae is changed for Philopterus gustafssoni sp. nov.

Background Thelazia callipaeda (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) is a vector-borne zoonotic eye worm with a broad host spectrum. In Europe, it is an emerging threat, having greatly expanded its geographical distribution during the past two decades. In Romania, T . callipaeda has been previously reported in domestic and wild canids and felids. The aim of the present study was to assess the occurrence of T. callipaeda in mustelids in the country. Methods Between March 2015 and April 2019, 77 road-killed mustelids (3 pine martens, Martes martes ; 6 European polecats, Mustela putorius ; 13 beech martens, Martes foina ; and 55 European badgers, Meles meles ) were examined by necropsy. If present, all ocular nematodes were collected and stored in absolute ethanol, for subsequent morphological and molecular identification. Results Two animals were found to be infected with T. callipaeda : one European badger and one beech marten. The molecular analysis revealed a 100% nucleotide similarity to T. callipaeda haplotype h1 for all the sequenced specimens. Conclusions To our knowledge, the present study demonstrates for the first time the occurrence of T. callipaeda in mustelids from Romania, records the easternmost locality of the parasite in Europe, and represents the first report of T. callipaeda in the European badger, Meles meles , extending the known host range for this parasite in Europe.

Two new feather mite species of the genus Trouessartia Canestrini are described from laughingthrushes (Passeriformes: Leiothrichidae) captured in Meghalaya (India): Trouessartia cyanouropterae sp. n. from Actinodura cyanouroptera (Hodgson) and Trouessartia alcippeae sp. n. from Alcippe nipalensis (Hodgson). It is the first time when species of the genus Trouessartia are described from leiothrichids.