Helminth parasite communities of macropodoid marsupials of the genera Hypsiprymnodon, Aepyprmnus, Thylogale, Onychogalea, Lagorchestes and Dendrolagus from Queensland

Abstract

Helminth parasites were examined from 4 Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, 18 Aepyprymnus rufescens, 13 Thylogale stigmatica, 13 Onychogalea unguifera, 2 0. fraenata, 8 Lagorchestes conspicillatus and 7 Dendrolagus lumholtzi from north and central Queensland. In all, 63 species of nematodes, ten species of cestodes and a single species of trematode were encountered. Helminth communities in H. moschatus and A. rufescens were characterised by few, highly specific parasites; D. lumholtzi similarly harboured few parasites; those of Onychogalea spp. and L. conspicillatus were more diverse and included a number of taxa shared with other macropodine hosts. The helminth community of T. stigmatica was extremely diverse and was dominated by helminths specific to Thylogale spp. The helminth communities of the various host genera showed little similarity to one another, even in the case of host species that were broadly sympatric. This lack of similarity is probably due to a mixture of factors, some related to host phylogeny and others ecological, particularly habitat type and feeding behaviour. The data presented illustrate a wider range of types of helminth communities in macropodoids than reported to date, and little evidence of exchange of parasites with rock-wallabies, Petrogale spp., examined from the same regions of Queensland.