MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mudskippers are members of the subfamily oxuderci-nae (tribe Periophthalmini), within the family gobiidae (gobies) (Murdy 1989). Depending on the authority, there are some nine or ten genera, the commonest and best known of which is Periophthalmus Bloch et schneider. As far as we are aware, this is the only genus from which an adult digenean has been reported, i.e. the lecithasterid Lecithaster ghanensis Fischthal et thomas, 1971 de-scribed by Fischthal and thomas (1971) from Perioph-thalmus koelreuteri (Pallas) [now considered P. barbarus (linnaeus)] from the Kakum river estuary, ghana. We found a digenean in a high proportion of specimens of the barred mudskipper Periophthalmus argentilineatus Valenciennes amongst the mangroves in Nouméa, New Caledonia. This fish species is widespread in mangrove ecosystems and mudflats of the Indo-Pacific Region (Murdy 1989). it is a carnivorous opportunist feeder con-suming small prey such as small crabs and other arthro-pods. Despite the widespread and common occurrence of the species, we can detect no records of digeneans from it