Summary
Blood of O. punctatus, the common Indian freshwater murrel, was found to contain trypanosomes. The rate of infection of this trypanosome was about 5% and mainly occurred in large sized fishes. These trypanosomes belong to a new species and have been given the name Trypanosoma punctati. The parasite measures 30–36 μ in length and 1.02–1.67 μ in width. It is characterized by a long free flagellum measuring about 3/4 of the body length. The nucleus and kinetoplast are relatively large and the cytoplasm is vacuolated with granules concentrated around the vacuoles. This is the first record of any trypanosome from this fish.
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Hasan, R., Qasim, S.Z. Trypanosoma punctati n. sp. from the fish Ophicephalus Punctatus Bloch, common fresh-water murrel of India. Z. Parasitenk. 22, 118–122 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329210
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329210