Subcutaneous merocercoids of Clistobothrium sp. in two Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus)

Fur seals represent intermediate hosts of the cestode Clistobothrium. Large sharks are definitive hosts for these parasites. Two female, 25– and 27-year-old fur seals, caught in the 1980s at the South African coast, were examined pathomorphologically. Both animals showed multifocal, up to 1 cm in diameter large cavities of the thoracic and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue containing intraluminal metacestodes of tapeworms, which were surrounded by a locally extensive, pyogranulomatous panniculitis. The metacestodes (merocercoids) of one fur seal were isolated from the subcutaneous adipose tissue and characterized morphologically and for the first time from this host by molecular techniques. The morphometric data corresponded with ‘delphini'-morphotype merocercoids, but the sequence of the partial 28S ribosomal RNA gene identified them as conspecific with merocercoids of the morphotype ‘grimaldii’. These merocercoid types are morphologically Type XV metacestodes of marine tapeworms and represent different species of Clistobothrium. Sequence data were generated for 18S, ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2, partial 28S ribosomal DNA and partial mitochondrial cox1 gene and phylogenetic analysis of 18S rRNA and partial 28S rRNA genes identified the fur seal merocercoids as Clistobothrium species. However, it cannot yet be assigned to species level because of limited molecular data from adult stages. Most likely, both fur seals were infected as juveniles in their original habitat, the coastal regions of South Africa. The metacestode infection is probably an incidental finding, however, there is a chronic inflammatory reaction next to the subcutaneous merocercoids. It is noteworthy, that the merocercoids remain in a potentially infective stage even after more than 20 years. Keywords: Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, Clistobothrium sp., Fur seal, Cestode, Subcutaneous parasites, Monorygma grimaldi