In the southern Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A., the trematode Metagonimoides oregonensis, a parasite of raccoons and possibly mink, utilizes larvae of lungless salamanders as second intermediate hosts, most frequently using the salamander Desmognathus quadramaculatus. We tested whether there was a difference in parasite infection between this salamander and its sympatric, cryptic congener, Desmognathus folkertsi, in northern Georgia. Whereas larval D. quadramaculatus had a prevalence of 100% with intensities ranging from 18 to over 1,000, none of the D. folkertsi had visible metacercariae. These results indicate that M. oregonensis is more host-specific in salamander second intermediate hosts in the southern Appalachians than previously reported.
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11 January 2022
Differential Infection of Two Sympatric, Cryptic Species of Appalachian Salamander (Genus Desmognathus) by the Trematode Metagonimoides oregonensis
Carlos D. Camp,
Dylan Jones,
Jessica Phillips,
Tyler L. Brock,
Jessica A. Wooten
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Comparative Parasitology
Vol. 88 • No. 2
August 2021
Vol. 88 • No. 2
August 2021
Desmognathus folkertsi
Desmognathus quadramaculatus
host specificity
intensity
metacercaria
Metagonimoides oregonensis
prevalence