Helminth Parasitism in the Badger , Taxidea taxus ( Schreber , 1778 ) , from the Western Great Plains

One cestode and eight nematode species were collected from 30 badgers, Taxidea taxus, from Kansas and West Texas. These included Mesocestoides corti Hoeppli, 1925 (23% of hosts infected), Filaroides milksi Whitlock, 1956(7%), Filaria taxideae Keppner, 1970(33%), Metathelazia capsulata Gerichter, 1948 (47%), Physaloptera torquata Leidy, 1886 (100%), Molineus sp. (37%), Ancylostoma taxideae Kalkan and Hansen, 1966 (80%), Ascaris columnaris Leidy, 1856 (30%), and Capillaria aerophila (Creplin, 1839) Travassos, 1915 (10%). Badgers were infected with from 1 to 7 (x = 3.5) helminth species. Simpson's index was low (0.17) indicating a dispersed helminth fauna in this host. Intensities of infection were low for most helminth species except P. torquata which ranged from 3 to 644 (x = 112) worms per host. Low similarity indexes indicated the helminth faunas from badgers in different localities of North America are basically different. The female-male ratio of A. taxideae was above unity (3.2:1) and positively correlated with the worm burden in badgers. The mean number of helminth species in 17 male hosts was 3.6 species while that of 13 female badgers was 3.1 species. There was no significant difference in frequency of occurrence of helminth species in different host sexes. New host records are established for M. capsulata, F. milksi, and C. aerophila. Metathelazia capsulata is redescribed from the North American badger. The host-parasite relationships and pathology of the various helminth species are discussed. Badgers, Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1778), are important carnivorous mammals in western North America. Although the literature consists of numerous sporadic reports of helminths from these hosts, there are only three comprehensive studies on their helminth fauna. Erickson (1946) reported six helminth species from Minnesota badgers. Leiby et al. (1971) documented nine helminth species in this host from South Dakota, and Wittrock and Ulmer (1974) found 13 helminth species from Iowa badgers. Leiby et al. (1971) provided a checklist of helminths reported from this host in North America. The present study examines the nature and extent of the helminth fauna from 30 badgers collected in the Western Great Plains of Kansas and the High Plains of Texas. Materials and Methods Badgers were obtained as carcasses from fur trappers in western Kansas and the Texas Panhandle in the winter, 1976-1977. Carcasses were frozen for later necropsy. Total recovery of all helminths was attempted. Tissue from lungs, liver, kidney, lymph nodes, and subcutaneous tissues was preserved in 10% formalin for later histological studies. Sections were cut at 6 ^im and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Nematodes were fixed in glacial acetic acid, preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol with 5% glycerine, and examined in glycerine wet mounts. Cestodes were fixed in AFA, preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol, stained in Celestin blue B, 1 This study was supported in part by funds from the Institute for Museum Research, The Museum of Texas Tech University. 2 Department of Pathology, Division of Comparative Pathology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centers, Lubbock, Texas 79430. 3 The Museum of the High Plains, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas 67601. Present address: Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843. Copyright © 2011, The Helminthological Society of Washington 246 PROCEEDINGS OF THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL SOCIETY Table 1. Helminths of the badger from the Western Great Plains. Helminth No. infected/no, examined % Intensity