Chris T. McAllister

Endoparasites of the Dark-Sided Salamander, Eurycea longicauda melanopleura, and the Cave Salamander, Eurycea lucifuga (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Two Caves in Arkansas, U.S.A

Abstract Four new host records for endoparasites of the dark-sided salamander, Eurycea longicauda melanopleura, and 2 new host records for the cave salamander, Eurycea lucifuga, from 2 cave systems in Independence County, Arkansas, U.S.A., are reported. Ten of 13 (77%) dark-sided salamanders harbored 1 or more of 4 parasite species, including 5 (38%) with Cepedietta michiganensis, 2 (15%) with Bothriocephalus rarus, 5 (38%) with Oswaldocruzia euryceae, and 1 (8%) with Cosmocercoides variabilis. All represent new host records. Two of 5 (40%) cave salamanders were infected, including 1 (20%) with C. michiganensis (new host record) and 1 (20%) with a dual infection of C. variabilis (new host record) and O. euryceae.

Helminth Parasites of the Grotto Salamander, Eurycea spelaea (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri, U.S.A

Abstract Thirty-eight larval and adult Eurycea (=Typhlotriton) spelaea were borrowed from the Arkansas State University Museum Herpetological (ASUMZ) collection and examined for helminth parasites. These salamanders were collected at various times between 1936–1988 from locales in Independence, Izard, Sharp, and Stone counties, Arkansas, U.S.A., and Boone, Howell, and Taney counties, Missouri, U.S.A. In addition, 2 larval E. spelaea were collected more recently (March 2001 and May 2004) from Fulton and Madison counties, Arkansas, and 8 more larvae were collected (March 2003) from 2 caves in Shannon County, Missouri. Eight of the ASUMZ salamanders and 1 larvae from Madison County, Arkansas (9/40, 22.5%) harbored infections, including 1 (2.5%) with the trematode Plagioporus gyrinophili Catalano and Etges, 1981; 3 (7.5%) with the cestode Bothriocephalus typhlotritonis Reeves, 1949; 5 (12.5%) with the trichurid nematode Amphibiocapillaria tritonispunctati (Diesing, 1851) Moravec, 1982; 1 (2.5%) with the seuratoid nematode Omeia papillocauda Rankin, 1937, and 1 (2.5%) with the acanthocephalan Fessisentis vancleavei (Hughes and Moore, 1943) Nickol, 1972. In addition, all 8 larval E. spelaea from Shannon County, Missouri, harbored neascus type metacercariae of an undetermined strigeoid trematode in their gills and body tissues. Plagioporus gyrinophili, O. papillocauda, and F. vancleavei represent new helminth records for this host; new geographic distributional records are documented for P. gyrinophili and B. typhlotritonis.

A synopsis of the milliped genus Brachycybe Wood, 1864 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae)

The milliped genus Brachycybe Wood, 1864 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae) comprises seven species in the eastern and western United States (two and three species, respectively) and Japan/South Korea and China (onespecies each); it is provisionally assigned to a broad-bodied platydesmid in Taiwan that may constitute an eighthspecies. Brachycybe is characterized by long, alate paranota, distinct dorsal tubercles, and closely proximate opposing legs that are separated by an anteriorly directed process. Species are identified by somatic features like the configurations of the colla, the presence or absence of notches on the caudal paranotal margins, the relative sizes of the tubercles and lengths of the rows, and the relative lengths of the legs; a key and anatomical illustrations facilitate determinations. Distributions are characterized by allopatric populations indicative of age; extreme disjunctions exist in B. lecontii Wood, 1864, and B. producta Loomis, 1936, in the eastern and western US, respectively. The former is projected for the southeastern corner of Kansas and is newly documented from Missouri and Texas; the latter is newlyrecorded from Oregon. Sinocybe Loomis, 1942, is placed in synonymy under Brachycybe, and S. cooki Loomis, 1942,is transferred into the genus; the synonymy of Platydesmus californicus Karsch, 1881, under B. rosea Murray, 1877, is confirmed.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE MILLIPED GENUS NARCEUS RAFINESQUE, 1820 (SPIROBOLIDA: SPIROBOLIDAE): OCCURRENCES IN NEW ENGLAND AND WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER; A SUMMARY OF PERIPHERAL LOCALITIES; AND FIRST RECORDS FROM CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, MAINE, AND MINNESOTA

Abstract The milliped genus Narceus Rafinesque, 1820 (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae) occupies parts or all of 2 Canadian provinces, Québec and Ontario; every U.S. state east of the Mississippi River; and 9 states to the west including Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Records are detailed for the “western” states and New England and include the first from Minnesota, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maine; occurrence is projected for southeastern Minnesota and the Delmarva Peninsula. The genus presently comprises 2 valid species that are endemic to Florida—N. gordanus (Chamberlin, 1943) and N. woodruffi Causey, 1959—and 2 of uncertain status that occur throughout the generic range and are referenced as the “N. americanus/annularis complex”; geographic evidence suggests greater diversity, particularly in the south, and a 2nd generic revision is in order to update the existing one by Keeton (1960). Records cluster within a large, semicontinuous area whose northern, southern, and western range extremes, respectively, are Saint-Nicolas, Lévis Census Division, Québec; Key West, Monroe County, Florida, and northeastern Duval County and Rockport, Aransas County, Texas; and Garner State Park, Uvalde County, Texas. The eastern limit is the Atlantic Ocean, and records are available from Cape Cod and Tuckernuck Island, Massachusetts; Long Island, New York; Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; and James Island, South Carolina. The projected western boundary, based on peripheral localities, angles southwestward from Omaha, Nebraska, to Uvalde County; and the northern boundary passes through central Iowa and Wisconsin (encompassing the Door Peninsula) and the southern periphery of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The lone Minnesota locality, from Lyon County in the southwest, lies substantially north of the projected border in Iowa and well west of the expected area of occurrence in southeastern Minnesota. The northernmost record west of the Mississippi River, it may represent an allopatric population that extends westward into eastern South Dakota.

Endoparasites of the Eastern Narrowmouth Toad, Gastrophryne carolinensis (Anura: Microhylidae), from Northwestern Louisiana and Northeastern Texas, U.S.A.

Abstract Three new distributional records and a new host record are reported for protozoan and nematode parasites of the eastern narrowmouth toad, Gastrophryne carolinensis, from northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas, U.S.A. Nine of 24 (38%) G. carolinensis harbored 1 or more of 3 parasite species, including 1 (4%) with the myxozoan, Myxidium serotinum, 9 (38%) with the opalinid, Protoopalina allisteri, and 4 (14%) with the nematode, Cosmocercoides variabilis. A new host record is documented for M. serotinum, new geographic records for Louisiana and Texas are reported for P. allisteri, and a new geographic record for Louisiana is reported for C. variabilis.

COMPOSITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE MILLIPED TRIBE PACHYDESMINI WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (POLYDESMIDA: XYSTODESMIDAE)

Abstract The xystodesmid milliped tribe Pachydesmini is supported by the autapomorphic absence of bold aposematic pigmentations and possibly also by relative somatic inflexibility; it comprises 3 component genera: Pachydesmus Cook, 1895; Dicellarius Chamberlin, 1920; and Thrinaxoria Chamberlin and Hoffman, 1950. Three representatives occur west of the Mississippi River—P. clarus (Chamberlin), P. crassicutis crassicutis (Wood), and T. lampra (Chamberlin). New localities are documented in Louisiana and Texas, and literature records are summarized for these states and Arkansas; records of P. clarus from Cherokee County, Texas, are the westernmost in this state for the east-Nearctic xystodesmid fauna. An apparently allopatric population of P. crassicutis crassicutis occurs in Evangeline and Lafayette Parishes, Louisiana. These are the first records of this species from west of the Mississippi River, and new localities of this form are cited from east of the watercourse. Thrinaxoria lampra, known previously in Texas from only Gregg County, is documented from Bowie, Cass, Harrison, Rusk, Sabine, and Titus Counties plus Webster Parish, Louisiana. Diagnoses and pertinent anatomical illustrations are provided for each species including the first cyphopod drawings for P. clarus and T. lampra; occurrences west of the river are depicted on a map. A new tribal diagnosis is published along with a distribution map.

Some Nematode and Acanthocephalan Parasites of the Longnose Leopard Lizard, Gambelia wislizenii (Lacertilia: Crotaphytidae), from Arizona, California, and Texas, with a Summary of the Helminths Reported from this Host

Abstract Eight adult longnose leopard lizards, Gambelia wislizenii, previously deposited in the Angelo State Natural History Collection (ASNHC) and collected between 1964 and 1969, were examined for helminth parasites. These lizards came from locales in Cochise County, Arizona (n = 1), San Bernardino County, California (n = 2), Mesa County, Colorado (n = 1), and Winkler County, Texas (n = 4). Five of the 8 ASNHC lizards (62.5%) were infected with 1 of 3 species of nematodes or an acanthocephalan, including 1 (12.5%) with larval Porrocaecum sp., 2 (25%) with Cyrtosomum penneri, 1 (12.5%) with Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma, and 1 (12.5%) with oligacanthorynchid acanthocephalan cystacanths. New helminth records for this host are documented for Porrocaecum sp. and the oligacanthorhynchid acanthocephalan cystacanth.

Parasites of the Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne olivacea) from Northern Texas

Forty-nine adult and 14 immature Great Plains narrowmouth toads (Gastrophryne olivacea) from Johnson and Somervell Counties of northcentral Texas were examined for parasites. Sixty-four percent of the toads were infected with one or more species of parasites. New host records are reported for an isosporan similar to Isospora neos, and for Cylindrotaenia americana. The most common parasite in G. olivacea was the nematode, Cosmocercoides dukae. Prevalence was high among the adult G. olivacea (82%); however, none of the immature toads were infected.

Neoechinorhynchus emyditoides Fisher, 1960 (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae) from the Mexican Plateau Slider, Trachemys gaigeae (Testudines: Emydidae), in New Mexico, U.S.A

Abstract Three of 5 (60%) Mexican Plateau sliders, Trachemys gaigeae, from Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro County, New Mexico, U.S.A., were found to be infected with the acanthocephalan, Neoechinorhynchus emyditoides Fisher, 1960. This is the first report of N. emyditoides from T. gaigeae and New Mexico, U.S.A., and only the third article reporting parasites from this host.

Distribution of the milliped genus Apheloria Chamberlin, 1921; summaries of peripheral localities and ones of A. virginiensis (Drury, 1770) west of the Mississippi River (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Abstract The milliped genus Apheloria occupies a broad area in Québec and Ontario, Canada, and the United States east of the Central Plains, lying generally north of the Gulf Coastal states. It is reported for the 1st time from New Jersey, District of Columbia, Illinois, and Kansas; and the 1st localities are recorded for Massachusetts, Connecticut, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Wisconsin. The projected distribution encompasses all or parts of the District of Columbia and 27 states, including Vermont and Delaware, where the genus has not been taken; New Hampshire and Mississippi lie outside the range. Chesapeake Bay and the Connecticut River form apparent eastern boundaries in Maryland–Virginia and New England, respectively; the Tennessee River does likewise on the south in northern Alabama. Aside from Arkansas, comparatively few records exist from the 6 projected states of occurrence west of the Mississippi River. Only 1 each is available from Iowa and Kansas, and there are no definite localities in Nebraska, where occurrence is postulated at Omaha, the type locality of Fontaria luminosa Kenyon, 1893. Confirmation with fresh material is necessary, but this name seems referrable to Apheloria and may be senior to either A. virginiensis iowa or A. v. reducta, both by Chamberlin, 1939, if 2 distinct races occur west of the Mississippi River.