Metazoan Parasites of Peromyscus Pectoralis (Rodentia: Muridae) in Central Texas (Report‪)‬

Abstract.--New records for Peromyscus pectoralis as a host species were confirmed for nine arthropods: three fleas (Jellisonia bullisi, J. ironsi, and Atyphloceras echis echis), one tick (Ornithodoros sp.), two mites (Androlaelaps fahrenholzi (=Haemolaelaps glasgowi) and Omilhonyssus sp.) two chiggers (Euschoengastia fronteriza and Euschoengastia criceticola) and one sucking louse (Hoplopleura hesperomydis) and six helminths: one nematode (Carolinensts tuffi), two trematodes (Scaphiostomum Pancreaticum and Zonorchis Komareki), two cestodes (Catenotaenia dendritica and a larval cewtode, Strobilocercus sp.), and one acanthocephalan (Moniliformis clarki). Carolinensis tujji and Zonorchis Komareki had the highest prevalence and total abundance. Metazoan parasites have been reported for 19 of the approximately 60 species of Peromyscus (Hall 1981); however, except for P. boylei, P. floridanus, P. leucopus, P. maniculatus, and P. truei, few comprehensive parasite surveys on individual species of white-footed mice (Peromyscus) have been completed (Layne 1963; Whitaker 1968). Few records exist for metazoan parasites of the white-ankled mouse, Peromyscus pectoralis (cf. Schmidly 1974). The first parasite reported for this species was a flea, Pleochaetoides (= Jellisonia, Traub 1950) bullisi Auguston, from Camp Bullis, Bexar County, Texas (Auguston 1944). Barnes et al. (1977) reported another flea, Anomiopsyllus nudatus hiemalis Eades & Menzies (- A. hiemalis), parasitizing P. pectoralis in Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas. The first chigger, Microtrombicula welbourni Loomis & Webb, was described from Val Verde County, Texas (Loomis & Webb 1972). Another chigger, Euschoengastia chisosensis Wrenn, Baccus & Loomis was recorded from Boulder Meadow, Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas (Wrenn et al. 1976). Gingrich & Barrett (1976) conducted laboratory infestations of P, pectoralis with the dipteran, Cuterebra fontinella Clark. Sabrosky (1986) identified a new species, Cuterebra clarki Sabrosky, from P. pectoralis collected at Bustamente, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Durette-Desset & Santos (2000) identified a new species of trichostrongylid nematode, Carolinensis tuffi Durette-Desset & Santos from the small intestine of Peromyscus pectoralis at Colorado Bend State Park in Lampasas County, Texas. No tick, louse, or mite species have been previously reported for the white-ankled mouse (Schmidly 1974). The objectives of this study were to: 1) survey the metazoan parasites of P. pectoralis in its natural environment, 2) conduct an ecological survey of the prevalence and intensity of metazoan parasites, and 3) examine variation in prevalence and intensity of metazoan parasites with respect to host age, sex, or month of collection.