Unusual finding of encapsulated nematode larvae (Spiruroidea) in Bartramia longicauda and Numenius americanus (Charadriiformes) in western Canada.

Abstract

Third-stage spiruroid larvae were found encapsulated on the serosa of the small and large intestines and in the mesentery of one of 15 adult upland sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda) from Manitoba, Canada, and three of 18 adult long-billed curlews (Numenius americanus) from Alberta, Canada. The larvae resemble third-stage larvae of Physocephalus sexalatus and birds may serve as a paratenic host of this unidentified spiruroid species.