Aline Lamien-Meda Aline Lamien-Meda Josef Harl Josef Harl Astrid Lieber Astrid Lieber Maria Unterköfler Maria Unterköfler Barbara Eigner Barbara Eigner Licha Nathalia Wortha Licha Nathalia Wortha Franz Mueller Franz Mueller Mike Heddergott Mike Heddergott Hans-Peter Fuehrer Hans-Peter Fuehrer Springer 2025 Common ravens (Corvus corax) are intelligent scavengers that adapt to diverse environments, playing a key ecological role, but their health and ecosystem contributions can be affected by parasites. This study investigates the prevalence and diversity of blood parasite infections in common ravens using molecular techniques. Blood samples (n = 42) were collected from dead common ravens in Germany and screened for filarioid nematodes, trypanosomatids, and haemosporidian parasites. The results showed that 26.2% of the common ravens were PCR-positive for at least one parasite, with some cases of mixed infections. Filarioid nematodes were found in 16.7%, trypanosomatids in 4.8%, and haemosporidian parasites in 16.7% of the common ravens. Sequencing revealed the presence of four Leucocytozoon CytB lineages and one Haemoproteus lineage. The findings suggest that common ravens in Germany are often infected with diverse avian blood parasites, with a higher prevalence of filarioid nematodes. Further research is needed to confirm the circulation of these parasites in the common raven population and to identify the specific filarioid nematode species present in Germany. PDFDocument eng 2026-02-16T09:48:13.647349Z 2025 Corvus Corax Filarioid Nematodes Trypanosoma Haemosporidian Parasites Leucocytozoon Haemoproteus 1769081 b application/pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/