The Asian fish tapeworm (AFT), Schyzocotyle acheilognathi, is a notorious and highly successful invasive parasite reported in a wide spectrum of freshwater fishes, and new reports of its spread continue to emerge. To date, no thorough review of its worldwide distribution and host associations is available. In the present work, we collected information from 651 articles up until 2017, from which we updated the number of the hosts to 312 fish species and 11 non-fish species, which is quite unusual among helminths. The AFT has spread to all but one continent (Antarctica). The highest number of records are from North America, followed by Asia and Europe. A key feature of its invasive success is its broad environmental tolerance.

Division of Natural Sciences St Norbert College 100 Grant Street DePere WI 54115 USA

Institute of Parasitology Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences České Budějovice Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

A Global Account of Established Non-Native Fish Species

Revision of Isoglaridacris (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea), parasites of suckers (Catostomidae) in North America: molecular phylogeny and description of four new species

Fish tapeworms (Cestoda) in the molecular era: achievements, gaps and prospects

Caryophyllidean tapeworms (Cestoda), Nearctic parasites of fish in Mexico, including description of a new species of Isoglaridacris and the first report of Khawia japonensis, an invasive parasite of common carp (Cyprinus carpio)