Abstract / Introduction / Summary:
A female cystacanth of Southwellina hispida (Van Cleave, 1925) (Acanthocephala, Polymorphida, Polymorphidae) was found encapsulated in the mesentery of a giant mottled eel Anguilla marmorata Quoy and Gaimard, 1824 from a freshwater pond on Okinoerabu-jima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan. This finding represents the first record of S. hispida and an identified fish acanthocephalan from the Ryukyu Islands including the island, and expands the distribution range of the species in Japan from Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku, southwestward to the island. Various aspects of the biology of S. hispida in Japan is also reviewed.
