Ascaridoid nematodes referable to Brevimulticaecum heterotis (Petter, Vassiliadès et Marchand, 1979) Khalil, 1984 were recorded from the intestine of the African bonytongue, Heterotis niloticus (Cuvier) (Arapaimidae, Osteoglossiformes), from the Mare Simenti in the Niokolo Koba National Park, East Senegal and from Kosti, Sudan. Their examination using light microscopy and for the first time both environmental scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed some previously unreported morphological features and made possible a detailed redescription of this species. The most important finding is the presence of dentigerous ridges on the inner edges of the lips, which confirms the attribution of this species to Multicaecum Baylis, 1923, where it was originally placed, and not to Brevimulticaecum Mozgovoy in Skryabin, Shikhobalova et Mozgovoy, 1951 where it had subsequently been transferred. A key to Brevimulticaecum and Multicaecum species is provided. Multicaecum heterotis is the first species of the genus to be sequenced. Partial sequences of the small ribosomal subunit (18S) and internal transcribed spacer 2 region (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) have been analysed and compared with other nematode species.
A four-year experiment with a total of 993 individually-tagged barbel, Barbus barbus, resulted in the assessment of survival and abundance. The mean annual survival rate was 0.862, but the partial values assessed separately for seasons (spring – autumn and autumn – spring) differed considerably and the possible reasons for this phenomenon are discussed. On the basis of known survival rate, the abundance was subsequently estimated (for the entire studied stretch and per hectare) using the Petersen capture-recapture method for the period spring 1999 to autumn 2002, and the mean value reached 303 ± 110 ind.ha-1 (minimum 195, maximum 498 ind.ha-1). The Jolly-Seber method was also used to estimate abundance from autumn 1999 to spring 2001 and gave a mean 425 ± 120 ind.ha-1 and a range 233–563 ind.ha1. These results were in autumn 2001 supported by another simultaneously conducted census following the removal method by Zippin (316 ind.ha-1). The abundance showed a significant tendency to increase during the four-year survey, which is in an accordance with the long-term changes observed in the dynamics of the fish community in this stream.