New reports and a redescription of Porrocaecum heteropterum (Diesing, 1851) (Ascarididae), a rare nematode parasitic on South American Threskiornithid birds.

DIGIANI, MARÍA CELINA; SUTTON, CAROLA ANA

SYSTEMATIC PARASITOLOGY

Springer

Año: 2001 vol. 49 p. 1 - 6

0165-5752

Porrocaecum heteropterum (Diesing, 1851) (Nematoda, Ascarididae) is reported parasitising the white-faced ibis Plegadis chihi and the black-faced ibis Theristicus melanopis melanopis (Ciconiiformes, Threskiornithidae) from the Provinces of Buenos Aires and Neuquén, Argentina. This nematode has been reported very few times in the literature, mainly from Brazilian threskiornithids, and there have been no new reports following a redescription of the species given in 1957. This paper provides new host and locality records for this rather rare species, as well as some additional morphological data, mainly based on SEM studies, which complement the previous descriptions. The scarce and sporadic records of this species seem to indicate not only a defined host-specificity towards threskiornithid birds but also that the acquisition of this parasite is possible only when certain ecological barriers, including food availability, feeding habits and environmental conditions, are surmounted.