Acanthocephala of the Raccoon (Procyon lotor) with a Faunal Review of Macracanthorhynchus ingens (Archiacanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae)

摘要

Nine species of acanthocephalans have previously been reported from the raccoon, Procyon lotor, from North America: Centrorhynchus conspectus, Centrorhynchus sp., Echinorhynchus gadi, Moniliformis sp., Neoechinorhynchus cylindratus, Oligacanthorhynchus tortuosa, Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus, Profilicollis botulus, and Macracanthorhynchus ingens. Herein is reported for the first time the collection of Arythmorhynchus frassoni, Centrorhynchus spinonsus, and Southwellina hispida, each from single raccoons on Ossabaw Island, Georgia. The specimen previously identified as 0. tortuosa was redetermined as M. ingens. Thus, this brings the total number of acanthocephalan species reported from the raccoon to 11. Infections of raccoons with all but M. ingens were of immature worms acquired by ingestion of intermediate or paratenic hosts or worms apparently ingested with infected definitive hosts. The many extensive surveys conducted of raccoons suggest that M. ingens is the only acanthocephalan that utilizes Procyon lotor as definitive host. A faunal review of M. ingens is provided, revealing that this acanthocephalan exhibits a broad distribution across much of the eastern United States. Macracanthorhynchus ingens is reported for the first time from Mississippi, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Also, M. ingens is reported for the first time from a raccoon (P. lotor) in Nicaragua and a kinkajou (Potos flavus) in Colombia. Additionally, cystacanths are reported from a bess beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus, from Louisiana, representing a new intermediate host record and the first report of the natural occurrence of M. ingens from a coleopteran.