Endoparasites of the Spotted Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus conanti (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Southern Arkansas, U.S.A

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Twenty-six spotted dusky salamanders (Desmognathus conanti) were collected from 2 counties of south-central Arkansas and examined for endoparasites. Only 3 (12%) were infected; 1 with the digene Brachycoelium salamandrae, 1 with a tetrathyridium of the cestode Mesocestoides sp., and 1 with a larval nematode, Porrocaecum sp., and an acanthocephalan cystacanth. The prevalence of infection for each helminth species was 4%. We document new host records for Mesocestoides sp., Porrocaecum sp., and an echinorhynchid acanthocephalan cystacanth. This is also the first time that Porrocaecum sp. has been reported from a salamander, and only the fourth time Mesocestoides sp. has been reported from salamanders.