Parasite of the Month article: Cichlidogyrus casuarinus

Like all the fish hosts it is currently known to infest, Cichlidogyrus casuarinus is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, where it was the first member of its genus with a host range known to span more than one fish genus. This peculiarly broad host-specificity may be explained by low host density in the open waters of the lake. This hypothesis on the link between host biology and the use of hosts by the parasite gave rise to a research line on phylogeography and population dynamics of open-water fish parasites in Lake Tanganyika, an ecosystem that is a natural experiment across the biological sciences. C. casuarinus is among the handful of parasites known from the deep and open water environment of this Central African lake, together with congeners enjoying some local and international media attention, such as Cichlidogyrus brunnensis, whose species epithet honors the Czech city of Brno which boasts a tradition in fish parasitology, and Cichlidogyrus attenboroughi, a patronym requiring no explanation.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2025.01.013