Comparative Parasitology 67(1) 2000 - Peru State College

126 COMPARATIVE PARASITOLOGY, 67(1), JANUARY 2000
Table 1. Parasites from 12 eastern indigo snakes collected in Florida, U.S.A.
Species of parasite Location in host*
Trematoda
Ochetosoma kansense±
(Crow, 1913)
Ochetosoma elongation^
(Pratt, 1903)
Cestoda
Proteocephalus sp.t
Larval cestode (tetrathyridium):]:
Larval cestode (sparganum):t
Nematoda
Kalicephalus inennis coronellae
Ortlepp, 1923
Kalicephalus appendiculatus
Molin, 1861
Kalicephalus rectiphilus
Harwood, 1932
Physaloptera obtussima^-
Molin, 1860
Terranova caballerotf.
Barus and Coy Otero, 1966
Strongyloides sp.
Eustrongylides larvae:]:
Gnathostoma larvaet
Physaloptera larvae^:
Larval nematodes
Acanthocephalan (cystacanths)
Centrorhynchus spinosusi
(Kaiser, 1893)
Macracanthorhynchus ingens%
(Listow, 1879)
Pentastoma
Kiricephalus coarctatus
(Diesing, 1850)
Acari
Amblyomma dissimile
Koch, 1844
ES, OC, ST
BC, ES, SI, LI, LN
SI
ME
ME
ES, ST
ST, SI
SI, LI
ES
ST
SI, LI
ST
ME
ST
SI
ME
ME
BC, LN
SK
Number of
snakes
infected
7
3
1
2
2
10
10
9
1
1
3
1
1
6
5
3
12
Intensity
Mean Range Counties!
15
337
2
7
3
37
27
17
1
1
3
2
2
16
5
18
151
3-34 B, C, I, L, O
35-541 B
3-10
2-3
2-128
5-50
1-77
1-5
1-80
1-9
3-30
1-515
1-7
2-10
B
O
I, K
A, B, C, K, L, M, O
B, C, I, L, M, O,
A, B, C, K, L, M, O
K
K
B, C, I
B
M
A, B, I, M, O
B, I, O
B, K
A, B, C, I, K, L, M, O
B, C, I, K, L, M, O
* BC = body cavity; ES = esophagus; LI = large intestine; LN = lungs; ME = mesenteries; OC = oral cavity; SI = small
intestine; SK = skin; ST = stomach.
t County where parasite was found: A = Alachua; B = Brevard; C = Charlotte; I = Indian River; K = Okaloosa; L = Levy;
M = Monroe; O = Osceola.
£ New host records.
ties, birds, and small mammals (Moler, 1992).,
which may also be paratenic hosts for M. ingens.
Larval stages have been identified from Florida
mice (Podomys floridanus (Chapman, 1889))
and cotton mice (Peromyscus gossypinus (Le
Conte, 1853)) in Florida (Forrester, 1992). In
Florida, adults of M. ingens have been reported
mainly from raccoons (Procyon lotor (Linnaeus,
1758)) (Forrester, 1992) and black bears (Ursus
americanus floridanus (Merriam, 1896)) (Conti
et al., 1983). Cystacanths of Centrorhynchus
spinosus also were encysted in the mesenteries.
Copyright © 2011, The Helminthological Society of Washington
They encysted mainly on the serosal surface of
the small intestine, intermixed with the cystacanths
of M. ingens, but in much lower intensities
(Table 1). The definitive hosts for C. spinosus
are several species of birds, primarily
owls (Nickol, 1983). In Florida we have unpublished
records of them in barred owls, Strix varia
Barton, 1799, eastern screech-owls, Otus asio
Linnaeus, 1758, and great horned owls, Bubo
virginianus (Gmelin, 1788). Raccoons and raptors
in Florida could acquire these acanthocephalan
infections from indigo snakes if these