136 PROCEEDINGS OF THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Table 1. Recovery of Sarcocystis cruzi sporo- the first feeding. Both dogs passed sporocysts cysts from dogs and attempted recovery of Sarcocys- (day 20 and days .12, 14, 22) but the human tis sporocysts from a human volunteer fed retail did not (Table 1). purchased beef. In three recent reports, human volunteers No. of who consumed raw beef became infected with Sporo- Prepatent Sarcocystis Sarcocystis hominis and shed sporocysts in Exp. Type of beef fed cysts period sporocysts No. and host No.* in feces ( days ) calculated! their feces (Rommel and Heydorn, 1972, Berl. Munch. Tierarztl. Wschr. 85: 143-145; and 1 D 1 Chuck roast Positive 13 330 D 2 M ii 13 312 Aryeety and Piekarski, 1976, Z. Parasitenkd. D 3 Round steak 15 1,488 50: 109-124; Heydorn, 1977, Arch. Leben- D 4 ii M 18 2,080 D 5 Roast — rare 14 576 smittelhyg. 28: 27-31). The public health D 6 II M 11 744 D 7 Frozen implications suggest illness directly attributed minute steak Negative Negative 0 to Sarcocystis as reported for a human volun- D 8 ii ii I, 0 D 9 Frozen ham- teer who consumed raw beef (Heydorn, loc. burger patties 0 D 10 ii ii 0 cit). The human in the present study neither D 11 Beef bologna 0 shed sporocysts nor had any signs of illness D 12 ii ti 0 D 13 Frankfurters 0 in either experiment 2 or 3. No conclusions D 14 ,, 0 can be drawn, however, regarding prevalence D 15 ( Control ) 0 D 16 " 0 of S. hominis in beef in the United States from 2 D 17 Roast — rare Negitive Negitive 44 such a small sampling. D 18 ii ii 60 The present finding, that S. cruzi in chuck H 1 H M Not done roast, round steak, and rare roast beef is in- 3 D 19 Ground beef Po itive 22 672 D 20 ii it , 12 1,872 fectious for dogs, extends the previous find- H 1 " Nefe ative Negative Not done ing that S. cruzi is present and infectious in * Abbreviations D = dogs; H = human. retail beef and suggests that S. hominis, when f Thousands in intestine; experiment 1, day 20; experi- ment 2, day 21; experiment 3, day 23. present, could probably also survive in retail beef.

Acknowledgment hypochlorite as described above. Although Appreciation is expressed to F. L. Earl and sporocysts had not been found in the fecal V. Smith who provided dogs and to D. C. floats, sporocysts were recovered from the in- Davis who provided technical assistance. testinal digest (Table 1). In experiment 3 (Table 1), two dogs and ROBERT G. LEEK AND R. FAYER one of the authors (R. F.) each ate 227 g of Parasitology Institute ground beef daily for 3 days. Feces were ex- ARS-USDA amined for 22 days beginning on the day of Beltsville, Maryland 20705

Research Note Neoechinorhynchus cylindratus (Acanthocephala) from the Troglodytic Fish, Amblyopsis spelaea, in Kentucky

Despite the fact that scientific interest in Science 165: 971-981), no acanthocephalan •caves began in 17th Century Europe and early is previously known from a troglodytic (ob- biological studies emphasized descriptions and ligate cave form) fish. It was surprising, there- faunal surveys (Poulson and White, 1969, fore, when one of 50 specimens of the troglo-

Copyright © 2011, The Helminthological Society of Washington OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 dyte, Amblyopsis spelaea, was discovered to system with indirect connections to large rivers, harbor four specimens of Neoechinorhynchus such as the Cumberland, Green, and Ohio, cylindratus (Van Cleave, 1913) Van Cleave, and to the surface through sinkholes charac- 1919, a widely distributed parasite of numerous teristic of the region's plains. Dyes introduced piscine . The infected fish was captured into sinkholes streams indicate that surface in "Under the Road Cave" in Breckenridge water flows from these streams through the County, Kentucky. Other specimens examined caves and finally drains into major rivers were from that cave and several private, little (Mohr and Poulson, 1966, McGraw-Hill, N.Y., known caves of the immediate vicinity. No hel- 232 p.). Influx from rivers, streams, and sink- minth has been previously reported from A. holes during periods of heavy rain and high spelaea. water brings organic matter and small or- The acanthocephalans were intestinal but ganisms into the cave environment and even immature. Three males were 3.4, 4.0, and results in plankton blooms within the hypogean 4.3 mm in length. The single female, 4.1 system (Poulson and Smith, 1969, Proc. 4th mm long, contained ovarian balls but no eggs. Int. Congr. Speleol. 4: 197-201). Such flow Specimens from the cave fish did not differ in could readily carry acanthocephalan infected any detail from the original description of Neo- into the cave system. Amblyopsis echinorhynchus cylindratus by Van Cleave spelaea forages along walls and ledges, on the (1913, Zool. Anz. 43: 177-190) or the ex- substrate, and sometimes in midwater of its panded redescription by Ward (1940, Trans. cave environment. In the laboratory, Am. Microsc. Soc. 59: 327-347). and amphipods are readily located and con- Amblyopsis spelaea is typical of troglodytes sumed (Poulson, 1963, loc. cit.). in being blind and lacking pigment and in The inability of troglodytic fauna to survive possessing numerous neuromasts and elabor- in natural surface waters provides a barrier ated lateral lines (Poulson, 1963, Am. Midi. whereby certain parasites could be isolated in Nat. 70: 257-290). According to Poulson the hypogean environment. Although there is (1963, loc. cit.), a sequence in adaptation of no evidence that a population of Neoechino- members of the to caves is rhynchus cylindratus is isolated in this man- shown in order by the epigean (surface) fish ner, such occurrences, if detected, could pro- Chologaster cornuta, the troglophilic (faculta- vide models for study of speciation. Specimens tive cave form) C. agassizii, and the troglo- of N. cylindratus collected from Amblyopsis dytic A. spelaea. It is possible that Neo- spelaea are morphologically identical to those echinorhynchus cylindratus is distributed from from surface fishes, and no sign of divergence the surface to deep within caves through para- was detected. This incident does, however, sitism, although not yet discovered, of such reflect the dynamic nature of the cave environ- a series of fishes. It is more likely, however, ment and illustrates its potential as a study that epigean intermediate hosts system for helminthologists. washed into caves during floods or through sinkholes are the source of infection. The BRENT B. NICKOL known range of A. spelaea is from Mammoth School of Life Sciences Cave (Ky.) northward into caves of unglaciated University of Nebraska-Lincoln regions of Indiana (Clay, 1975, Ky. Dept. Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 Fish Wildl. Resour., Frankfort, 416 p.). The entire area is karst limestone riddled with a FRED H. WHITTAKER multitude of interconnecting subterranean Department of Biology streams forming an enormous subterranean University of Louisville network. This network of caves is an open Louisville, Kentucky 40208

Copyright © 2011, The Helminthological Society of Washington