Anatrichosoma ocularis sp. n. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae) from the Eye of the Common Tree Shrew, Tupaia glis

Abstract

The worm is described from the corneal and conjunctival epithelium of the tree shrew, Tupaia glis. A. ocularis is smaller than any species hitherto described for the genus. It is distinguished by the absence of a pronounced cephalic cuticular inflation and the presence of hypodermal ridges on the body of the female distal to the vulva. This is the first species of Anatrichosoma described from a prosimian and the first to be found in the epithelium of the eye. During routine examination of a Tupaia glis imported from Bangkok, Thailand, a nematode was observed in the corneal epithelium. The nematode was recovered later at necropsy and determined to be a trichuroid of the genus Anatrichosoma (Smith and Chitwood, 1954). Species of Anatrichosoma have been reported from a wide variety of Asian and African monkeys, African gerbils, and from the opossum, Didelphis marsupialis, in the Western Hemisphere (Swift et al., 1922; Smith and Chitwood, 1954; Chitwood and Smith, 1958; Orihel, 1970; Pence and Little, 1972). There is no record of Anatrichosoma from prosimians. Typically, the adult worms burrow in the superficial layers of the mucosal epithelium of the nasal passages, stomach, and buccal cavity of their normal hosts. Male worms are often found in deeper tissues underlying the mucosa. Six of 16 animals were found to be infected; three male and seven female worms were recovered. Studies of these 10 worms are the basis of the following description. The specimens were fixed in glacial acetic acid, transferred to 70% ethanol containing 5% glycerine by volume, then cleared in pure glycerine for study. All measurements are in microns unless otherwise indicated; the mean is followed by the range in parentheses. Drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida. Anatrichosoma ocularis sp. n. (Figs. 1-7)