The Roundworm Genus Raphidascaris in Co. TyroneAuthor(s): Jim BradleySource: The Irish Naturalists' Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan., 1980), p. 43Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25538369 .

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Ir. Nat. J. Vol. 20 No. 1 1980 43

OSPREY PANDION HALIAETUS (L.) IN CO DOWN

During the first week of May 1979, Mr George Hanna, the Ranger of Tolly more Forest Park near

Newcastle. Co Down, identified an osprey Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus) when he saw it perched on

the parapet of a bridge in the forest.

I first saw the osprey on the evening of 23 May 1979. As I was walking along the bank of the

Shimna River I watched it fly along the river directly towards and then over me at short distance. Later

that evening I had the good fortune to watch it fishing in pools in the river and I was able to observe it

plunge after fish in the characteristic feet first manner of hunting. The osprey is a rare species in Northern Ireland, so I was determined to obtain photographic

evidence of the occurrence and at 0630 hrs the following morning I again entered the forest this time

with a 35mm single lens reflex camera and 150mm lens. I was able to obtain two clear photographs of

the bird by using my car as a hide, in both cases the bird was perched in a tree between the Rustic

Bridge and the upper stepping stones. These photographs together with written evidence of the record

have been examined and fully accepted by the Northern Ireland Bird Records Committee (132/1979

osprey). I saw the osprey on two further occasions in Tolly more Forest, my last sighting having been on 7

June 1979. Although there were further claims by others of ospreys sighted in the area I understand

that no further reports have reached the Records Committee and I do not know of any claimed

sightings after mid-June 1979. Presumably the bird left the area soon after my final sighting.

Warden. F. H. Ebbitt Field Study Centre. Bryansford. Newcastle, Co Down.

ISABEL G. ADAMS

THE ROUNDWORN GENUS RAPHIDASCARIS IN CO TYRONE

Members of this genus have been recorded on the British mainland a number of times (Kennedy 1974,7. Fish. Biology 5 : 613-644) and occur in the intestines of pike and other predatory fish, with

their larvae encysting in the liver or mesenteries of smaller fish.

The specimen found was a third-stage larva present in a Gammarus pulex (L.) which was a

mature female carrying eggs and seemingly unaffected by the larva. It was the only infected G. pulex in approximately fifty taken at the Coagh bridge on the Ballinderry river, Co Tyrone, in February 1979.

G. pulex is a species which has apparently spread in recent years into L. Neagh and the

Ballinderry (Strange and Glass, pers. comm.). It may well be that this species brought Raphidascaris with it from Britain to Ireland in which case there is also a possibility that another introduced

(American) water shrimp Gammarus tigrinus (Sexton), now present in river catchments along the

north coast and L. Neagh, may have introduced some other parasites from farther afield. I wish to express my thanks to Dr D. I. Gibson, Parasitic Worms Section, British Museum (Nat.

Hist.) who kindly identified the specimen, and the staff of Traad Point Limnology Laboratory for their

invaluable assistance.

Limnology Laboratory, N.U.U., Traad Point, Drumenagh, Co. Derry. JIM BRADLEY

A LARGE STURGEON ACIPENSER STVRIO L. FROM ARDGLASS, CO DOWN

On 29 November 1977 Mr John McClements caught a sturgeon while trawling off Ardglass. The

fish was 8.5 ft (2.6 m) in total length and weighed 84 lb (38 kg). This is probably the biggest sturgeon recorded from Irish waters in this century. Twelve records of sturgeons landed in Ireland since 1943

have been published by Kennedy (1947, Ir. Nat. J. 9: 50), Went {1975. Ir. Nat. J. 18: 205-208 and

previous papers) and Minchin and Molloy (1976, Ir. Mat. J. 18: 360-363). Trawls were the most

frequently reported method of capture. Five of the specimens were captured in the Irish Sea and the

remainder were taken off the south and south-west coasts. No captures seem to have been reported from the west coast.

The tail of the present specimen spans 26 cm and is lodged in the Zoology Museum of the New

University of Ulster. Mr A. Cochrane, fishmonger, kindly informed us of the sturgeon's weight.

School of Biological and Environmental Studies, New University of Ulster, Coleraine. J P. F. WILSON

R. J FLOWER

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