Anoplocephalid cestodes of wood rats (Neotoma spp.) in the western U.S.A.

Abstract

This study reviews the taxonomy of anoplocephaline cestodes of wood rats, Neotoma cinerea, N. fuscipes and N. mexicana (Sigmodontinae) in the western and south-western U.S.A. The anoplocephaline fauna included five species, only one of which, Andrya neotomae Voge, 1946, was relatively common and occurred in all three host species. Other species were Paranoplocephala freemani Haukisalmi, Henttonen et Hardman, 2006, P. primordialis (Douthitt, 1915), both host-generalist species of North American rodents, and two apparently undescribed species of Paranoplocephala s. str. Aprostatandrya octodonensis Babero et Cattan, 1975 from the indigenous South American rodent Octodon degus is regarded as a junior synonym of A. neotomae. A redescription is provided for A. neotomae. © 2006 W. Stefański Institute of Parasitology, PAS.