First record of Troglotrema acutum (Trematoda, Troglotrematidae) in European polecats Mustela putorius from Luxembourg

We report the first record of the trematode Troglotrema acutum in skulls of European polecats (Mustela putorius) from Luxembourg. Thirty-one road-killed polecats from the northern and eastern parts of the country were examined. We found the trematode in three polecats from the administrative districts of Clervaux and Vianden in the northeast of the country. The parasites were detected in the frontal sinuses of one juvenile male as well as one adult of each sex. The animals were infected with six, nine and 13 adult trematodes, respectively, and we recovered 24 trematode eggs from one polecat. While the two adult hosts showed the lesions and deformations of the skull that are typical of T. acutum infections in polecats, the skull of the juvenile was not deformed. The prevalence of 9.7% reported here was lower than the values reported from Central European studies. Our findings indicate that the distribution range of T. acutum in western Central Europe extends to the Ardennes low mountain range.