Trichuris minuta Rudolphi

Panti-May, Jesús Alonso, Chan-Casanova, Anyela Jackelin, Canche-Pool, Elsy, Tello-Martín, Raúl, Ruiz-Piña, Hugo, Concha-Guillermo, Henry, Guiascón, Oscar Retana-, Vega, Pedro Pablo Martínez, Chablé-Santos, Juan, Martínez, Erendira Estrella-, Moguel-Chin, Wilson Isaias, Hernández-Orts, Jesús S., Hernández-Mena, David I., Mendoza-Garfias, Berenit & García-Prieto, Luis, 2024, Morphological and molecular data on helminths of Didelphis virginiana and Philander vossi (Mammalia: Didelphidae) from the Yucatán Peninsula, southeast Mexico, Zootaxa 5463 (1), pp. 1-24 : 12

Trichuris minuta Rudolphi

Site of infection: Caecum.

Host species: Didelphis virginiana .

Localities: Mérida (Yucatán), Campeche and Chencoh (Campeche).

Prevalence: 83.3% (5/6).

Mean intensity: 23.3 (range 1‒83).

Specimens deposited: CNHE 12888‒12890.

GenBank accession numbers: PP662466, PP662467.

Comments: The specimens examined have characteristics of T. minuta described by Babero (1960) from D. virginiana in the USA. Anterior part of body long, narrow, tapered, and whip-like; posterior part of body broad, and handle-like. Male 14,150 – 22,740 in body length. Males with spicular tube. Proximal cloacal tube (800‒1,310 long) united laterally to a distal cloacal tube (412– 855 long). Spicule (920‒1,080 long) covered in its distal portion with a cylindrical and spiny sheath ( Figure 6A ). Female body length 15,810 –18,300. Female with non-protrusive vulva. Eggs oval, with bipolar plugs, 62–80 long by 32–35 wide.

Trichuris minuta has only been reported from D. virginiana in Morelos ( Eslava-Araujo 2005). This is the second record of T. minuta in Mexico and the first record in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Figures

FIGURE 6. A. Posterior end of male Trichuris minuta from Didelphis virginiana showing the cilindrical spicular sheath, lateral view. B. Esophagus-intestine junction, and vulva of female Trichuris sp. from Philander vossi, lateral view. C. SEM micrograph of female proboscis of Oligacanthorhynchus microcephalus, lateral view.Abbreviations: egg (e), hook (h), proboscis (p), spicule (s), trunk (t), vulva (v), spicule sheath (ss), distal cloacal tube (dct).