The acanthocephalan parasites of the fishes of the Texas coast.

In the course of a histochemical study of the Acanthocephala during the 1955-56 school year at Rice Institute in Houston, 1,264 fish from the coastal waters of Texas, representing 39 species, were examined for Acanthocephala. These fish, for the most part, were seined on the open Gulf beach or in the tidal creeks and pools. A few fish were taken by hook and line and one batch was received from local fishermen in Galveston Bay. Generally, the fish were collected on Saturday and kept in crushed ice until the following Monday. It was found that all the parasites except a few of the more delicate trematodes were still alive, and, on the basis of the histochemical tests, the Acanthocephala appeared to be in good physiological condition. Since it was desirable for the histochemical studies that the worms be fixed as soon after removal from the fish as possible, the examinations were done on a composite basis. Thus no individual host-parasite records were obtained but an accurate count was made of the number of worms recovered from each composite. Such records at least give an indication of the density of the parasite population although for detailed study it would be desirable to keep more exhaustive records. Inasmuch as 7 species representing 4 families and including one new genus and species were found during the course of these collections it was thought advisable that these collection records be published.