Helminth parasites of some rodents (Cricetidae, Heteromyidae, and Sciuridae) from Zacatecas, Mexico

Eighty-six specimens representing 7 species of rodents from 9 localities in the state Zacatecas were examined for helminths. Only 5 host species were found to harbor at least 1 species: Chaetodipus sp., Dipodomys merriami atronasus, Neotoma mexicana, Otospermophilus variegatus, and Peromyscus sp.; in contrast Mus musculus and Reithrodontomys sp., were not parasitized. Three species of cestodes (Catenotaeniidae gen. sp., Hymenolepis sp., and Raillietina sp.) and 7 nematodes (Gongylonema sp., Heteromyoxyuris longejector, Lamotheoxyuris cf. ackerti, Mastophorus dipodomis, Rauschtineria sp., Pterygodermatites dipodomis, and Trichuris dipodomis) were recorded. The intestine is the most parasitized (7 taxa) and trematodes were not found. The highest species richness was recorded in D. merriami atronasus from Rancho La Barranca (6 taxa), which also had the most sampling effort. H. longejector in Chaetodipus sp. from El Gordillo, showed the greatest mean abundance, and mean intensity values, followed by Rauschtineria sp. in O. variegatus from Morelos-Zacatecas Road. All species are new locality records, 14 new host records, and 2 taxa recorded for the first time in Mexico: Rauschtineria sp. and M. dipodomis. This is the first study of helminth parasites of rodents from Zacatecas.