{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T23:52:02Z","timestamp":1791244322326,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"American Society of Parasitologists","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Journal of Parasitology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>During August through September 2018, strandings and mortalities of smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis [Mitchill, 1815 [Carcharhiniformes: Triakidae]) occurred on Brighton Beach and Coney Island Beach (Brooklyn, New York). Each of the 8 smooth dogfish examined grossly exhibited hemorrhagic meninges, turbid and pink to red cerebrospinal fluid, and soft and friable olfactory lobes. Wet mounts of the cerebrospinal fluid and brain showed intense infection by scuticociliates in each smooth dogfish. Histopathologic examination of the infected brain revealed intensity-dependent necrotizing meningoencephalitis. We identified the scuticociliate as Philasterides dicentrarchi Dragesco, Dragesco, Coste, Gasc, Romestand, Raymond, and Bouix, 1995 (Philasterida: Philasteridae). Small-subunit ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (SSU rDNA) sequences (604 base pairs) generated from our specimens were identical (100% nucleotide similarity) to morphologically validated GenBank sequences identified as P. dicentrarchi (JX914665). The 18S phylogenetic analysis revealed that all of the GenBank sequences identified as \u201cMiamiensis avidus,\u201d except for the type culture sequence KX357144 (which, as per the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature, objectively comprises Miamiensis avidus Thompson and Moewus, 1964 sensu stricto), represent P. dicentrarchi. Hence, mortalities of leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata Girard, 1855 [Carcharniformes: Triakidae]) and of zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum [Forster, 1781] [Orectolobiformes: Stegostomatidae]) in the Northeast Pacific Ocean represent infections by P. dicentrarchi, which have been misidentified as M. avidus previously, and that no evidence exists of M. avidus infecting an elasmobranch. We also provide a comprehensive list of scuticociliates reported to infect fishes and host species infected worldwide.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1645\/24-147","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]],"date-time":"2025-07-15T05:35:42Z","timestamp":1752557742000},"page":"479-488","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Meningoencephalitis in Stranded Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus canis) Infected by Philasterides dicentrarchi (Philasterida: Philasteridae) in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean"],"prefix":"10.1645","volume":"111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5769-5718","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steven P.","family":"Ksepka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Southeast Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36830."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alisa L.","family":"Newton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OCEARCH, Park City, Utah 84060."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephen A.","family":"Bullard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Southeast Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36830."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1220","reference":[{"key":"1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"S. 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Doallo, et al.  \"Nature Methods.\"  9, \"jModelTest 2: more models, new heuristics, and parallel computing.\" 772 (2012)","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.2109"},{"key":"29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"A. Rambaut, A. J. Drummond, D. Xie, et al.  \"Systematic Biology.\"  67, \"Posterior summarization in Bayesian phylogenetics using tracer 1.7.\" 901 (2018)","DOI":"10.1093\/sysbio\/syy032"},{"key":"30","unstructured":"A. Rambaut, M. A. Suchard, D. Xie, et al.  \"FigTree v1.4.3.\"  (2014)"}],"container-title":["Journal of Parasitology"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T22:58:49Z","timestamp":1791241129000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bioone.org\/journals\/journal-of-parasitology\/volume-111\/issue-4\/24-147\/Meningoencephalitis-in-Stranded-Smooth-Dogfish-Mustelus-canis-Infected-by-Philasterides\/10.1645\/24-147.full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]},"references-count":47,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1645\/24-147","relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-3395","1937-2345"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-3395","type":"print"},{"value":"1937-2345","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]}}}