Composition of the helminth community of a montane population of the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana (Phrynosomatidae) from Los Angeles County, California.

摘要

Six-hundred-and-sixty-three Uta stansburiana from the San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, USA, collected at monthly intervals from February 1974 to January 1975 were examined for helminths. One species of cestode, Oochoristica macallisteri, 2 species of nematodes, Physaloptera retusa (larvae) and Spauligodon giganticus and one species of an oligacanthorhynchid acanthocephalan (cystacanths) were found. S. giganticus had the highest prevalence (23%) and greatest mean abundance (1.0±3.7 SD). It was present in 11 of the 12 months studied. This is the first report of an oligacanthorhynchid acanthocephalan for U. stansburiana. Infection prevalences and mean intensities appeared to be determined by a lizard's position within the habitat and its behavior patterns.