Abstract
The morphology of three nematode taxa found in the skin of the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Monotremata) in southeastern New South Wales, Australia, is described and illustrated. Fourth-stage larvae belonging to the Rhabditoidea, ?Cylindrocorporidae, occurred primarily in superficial keratin and epidermal layers of the skin and in hair follicles. A nematode recognised by its conspicuous synlophe as a fourth-stage larva of the Trichostrongyloidea, of unknown genus and species but probably belonging to the molineid evolutionary line, was observed in histological section in the hypodermis. A gravid female nematode belonging to the Filarioidea, ?Lemdaninae, occurred in a lymphoid nodule in the hypodermis. O. anatinus is a protected species and these data are presented to draw the attention of parasitologists to skin as an important habitat for nematodes of the platypus.
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