Redescription of Cryptocotyle thapari McIntosh, 1953 (Trematoda: Heterophyidae), in the River Otter Lutra longicaudis from Bolivia

Authors

Scott Lyell Gardner, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Peter T. Thew, Thew Law OfficesFollow

Date of this Version

1-1-2006

Comments

Published in Comparative Parasitology, v. 73, no. 1 (2006): 20-23. Copyright 2006, the Helminthological Society of Washington. Used by permission.

Abstract

Cryptocotyle thapari McIntosh, 1953 (Digenea: Heterophyidae), collected originally from a South American otter that died at the U.S. National Zoo in Washington, D.C., is redescribed from specimens obtained from a river otter, Lutra longicaudis, collected from the Rı´o Matos in the Departamento de Beni, Bolivia. These individuals of C. thapari are slightly smaller than the type specimens, but they have similar features, including testes arranged in tandem and a well-defined ventrogenital sac. We redescribe this species because the original description was based on only 3 individuals, and the figures lacked detail. This is the first record of Cryptocotyle from any species of Lutra in South America and is the first record from an otter in Bolivia.