Seventy-four representatives of 8 species of whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis ssp.), from Mexico were examined for helminths: Aspidoscelis calidipes (n = 8), A. communis (n = 10), A. cozumelae (n = 9), A. gularis (n = 10), A. lineattissima (n = 9), A. motaguae (n = 11), A. parvisocia (n = 9), and A. sackii (n = 8). We found one species of Cestoda, Oochoristica scelopori, and 7 species of Nematoda, including Abbreviata terrapenis, Parapharyngodon alvarengai, Pharyngodon warneri, Spauligodon garciaprietoi, Spinicauda spinicauda, Thubunaea cnemidophorus, and Physaloptera sp. Mean helminth diversity per lizard species was 3.1 (SD 1.8). Spauligodon garciaprietoi was present in 6 of 8 (75%) of the lizard species. The specimens we examined were infected by an aggregate of helminths that were either characteristic of Aspidoscelis spp. from the United States (North America: O. scelopori, T. cnemidophorus, A. terrapenis, P. warneri) or characteristic of Aspidoscelis spp. from Mexico (Mesoamerica: S. garciaprietoi, P. alvarengai, S. spinicauda). Twentytwo new host records are reported.
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1 August 2014
Gastrointestinal Helminths from Eight Species of Aspidoscelis (Squamata: Teiidae) from Mexico
Stephen R. Goldberg,
Charles R. Bursey,
Jeanette Arreola
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