Abstract
From August 2011 to November 2013, 68 opossums (8 Didelphis sp., 40 Didelphis virginiana, 15 Didelphis marsupialis, and 5 Philander opossum) were collected in 18 localities from 12 Mexican states. A total of 12,188 helminths representing 21 taxa were identified (6 trematodes, 2 cestodes, 3 acanthocephalans and 10 nematodes). Sixty-six new locality records, 9 new host records, and one species, the trematode Brachylaima didelphus, is added to the composition of the helminth fauna of the opossums in Mexico. These data, in conjunction with previous records, bring the number of taxa parasitizing the Mexican terrestrial marsupials to 41. Among these species, we recognized a group of helminths typical of didelphids in other parts of the Americas. This group is constituted by the trematode Rhopalias coronatus, the acanthocephalan Oligacanthorhynchus microcephalus and the nematodes Cruzia tentaculata, Gnathostoma turgidum, and Turgida turgida. In general, the helminth fauna of each didelphid species showed a stable taxonomic composition with respect to previously sampled sites. This situation suggests that the rate of accumulation of helminth species in the inventory of these 3 species of terrestrial marsupials in the Neotropical portion of Mexico is decreasing; however, new samplings in the Nearctic portion of this country will probably increase the richness of the helminthological inventory of this group of mammals.
Highlights
Less than 25% of the 525 species of mammals distributed in Mexico have been examined for helminth parasites (García-Prieto et al 2012)
Voucher specimens of all helminth species were deposited at Colección Nacional de Helmintos (CNHE), Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City
As a result of this study, we reported 66 new locality records, 9 new host records, and added one species to the composition of the helminth fauna of the opossums in Mexico: the trematode B. didelphus parasitizing D. virginiana, which had not been recorded in this country
Summary
Less than 25% of the 525 species of mammals distributed in Mexico have been examined for helminth parasites (García-Prieto et al 2012). 336 nominal taxa of helminths have been recorded in mammals, 26 associated with 3 species of terrestrial opossums (Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana Kerr, the common opossum Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, and the Gray four-eyed opossum Philander opossum Linnaeus) from this country. The knowledge of the helminth richness associated with this host group is incomplete due to the wide distribution of these mammals in Mexico. Didelphis marsupialis occurs from Tamaulipas State and west San Luis Potosí until the Yucatán peninsula. Philander opossum occurs from south Tamaulipas State along the Gulf of Mexico coast and Chiapas State (ArcangeliÁlvarez 2010, Cervantes et al 2010). The main objective of this work is to present new records of helminth species parasitizing these 3 species of opossums in Mexico and to compare the finding to previous records
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