List of parasites of the marsh rice rat explained

A variety of parasites have been recorded from the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris), a semiaquatic rodent found in the eastern and southern United States, north to New Jersey and Kansas and south to Florida and Texas, and in Tamaulipas, far northeastern Mexico.[1] Some of these parasites are endoparasites, internal parasites, while others are ectoparasites, external parasites.[2]

Parasitologist John Kinsella compared the endoparasites of marsh rice rats in a saltwater marsh at Cedar Key and a freshwater marsh at Paynes Prairie, both in Florida, in a 1988 study. He found a total of 45 species, a number unequaled in rodents. This may be related to the diverse habitats the rice rat uses and to its omnivorous diet; it eats a variety of animals which may serve as intermediate hosts of various parasites. The endoparasites in the saltwater marsh were dominated by trematodes (flukes), and those of the freshwater marsh by nematodes (roundworms). Endoparasites were found in the gastric mucosa (which lines the stomach), the cavity of the stomach, the small intestine, the cecum, the large intestine, the pancreatic duct, the bile ducts, the mucus of the liver, the pulmonary arteries, the abdominal cavity, and the pleural cavity.[3] While the marsh rice rat harbors a number of host-specific species,[4] such as the nematode Aonchotheca forresteri, other parasite species, such as the lone star tick (pictured), are shared with other mammals.[5] Compared to the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus), Florida marsh rice rats usually harbor fewer individual ectoparasites of each species.[6] Borrelia, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, has been identified in some ticks that infect the marsh rice rat and it has been identified as a possible natural reservoir for Borrelia.[7]

Key

NameThe scientific name of the parasite species. A note is given where a species has been recorded on the marsh rice rat under different scientific names. Unnamed species are indicated with "sp." and parasites that could not be identified to species level are indicated with "unidentified".
Geographic occurrenceU.S. states where the parasite has been recorded on the marsh rice rat (no parasite records are available from the Mexican distribution of the marsh rice rat). This information is unavailable for some parasites.
PrevalencePrevalence of infection with the parasite in a studied marsh rice rat population. The prevalence is given either as a percentage (e.g., 10%) or as a fraction (e.g., 5/50, meaning that 5 out of 50 examined animals were infected with the parasite), together with the site of study. Prevalence figures are unavailable for some parasites.
Present on other species?"Yes" indicates that the parasite has also been recorded on other host species, "no" that it is (as far as known) specific to the marsh rice rat. For some unnamed species, the sources do not indicate whether or not the species is specific to the marsh rice rat.

Ectoparasites

Acari

The Acari include the mites and ticks. Many are parasites of other animals.[8] One study in South Carolina failed to find ticks on marsh rice rats living in marshes, which are an unsuitable habitat for the parasites.[9]

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present on other species?
Amblyomma americanum Georgia[10] – Yes
Amblyomma maculatum South Carolina – Yes
Androlaelaps casalis[11] – – Yes
Androlaelaps fahrenholzi Florida; Georgia[12] 50% (Everglades, Florida); 60% (Hillsborough Co., Florida); 3/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes[13]
Dermacentor variabilis Florida; Georgia; Missouri; South Carolina;[14] Tennessee[15] 47% (Everglades); 65% (Hillsborough Co.); 12/29 (southwestern Georgia); 21% (Chester Co., South Carolina) Yes, but marsh rice rat is among most important hosts[16]
Euschoengastia peromysci Georgia – Yes
Euschoengastia setosa Georgia – No
Euschoengastia sp. Georgia – No
Eutrombicula batatas Florida – No
Eutrombicula splendens Florida; Georgia 95% (Hillsborough Co.); 1/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes
Gigantolaelaps mattogrossensis Florida; Georgia; Texas 35% (Everglades); 14/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes, but in the United States occurs mainly in rice rats
Haemogamasus, unidentified species Georgia – –
Ixodes affinis Georgia – Yes
Ixodes brunneus Georgia[17] – Yes
Ixodes cookei Virginia[18] – Yes
Ixodes minor South Carolina[19] – Yes
Ixodes scapularis Georgia; North Carolina;[20] South Carolina;[21] Virginia[22] 30% (Outer Banks, North Carolina) Yes
Ixodes texanus Georgia – Yes
Ixodes, unidentified species Florida[23] – –
Laelaps manguinhosi Florida; South Carolina; Texas – None north of Mexico
Laelaps sp. Florida;[24] Georgia 50% (Everglades); 10% (Hillsborough Co.); 4/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes, but occurs mainly in rice rats
Listrophoridae, unidentified species Florida;[25] Georgia – –
Listrophorus, unidentified species Georgia 8/29 (southwestern Georgia) –
Ornithonyssus bacoti Florida;[26] Georgia 20% (Everglades); 50% (Hillsborough Co.); 11/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes
Ornithonyssus sp. Georgia 1/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes
Oryzomysia oryzomys Georgia – No
Prolistrophorus bakeri – – Yes
Prolistrophorus grassii Georgia – Yes
Radfordia palustris[27] Florida; Georgia; South Carolina – No

Anoplura

Sucking lice (Anoplura) are a diverse group infecting placental mammals.[28] Species found on marsh rice rats include three of the common genus Hoplopleura[29] and Polyplax spinulosa, which more usually infects black and brown rats.

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present in other species?
Hoplopleura hirsuta Georgia[30] 1/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes; usually occurs in cotton rats[31]
Hoplopleura oryzomydis Delaware; Florida;[32] Georgia;[33] Louisiana; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas 18% (Everglades); 35% (Hillsborough Co.); 1/21 (Shelby County, Tennessee)[34] Yes[35]
Polyplax spinulosa Georgia; Tennessee 2/29 (southwestern Georgia) Yes; normally infects Rattus[36]

Siphonaptera

Fleas (Siphonaptera) are common parasites of vertebrates, mainly mammals.[37] Several species of fleas have been found on the marsh rice rat.[38]

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present in other species?
Ctenocephalides felis Georgia – Yes
Ctenophthalmus pseudagyrtes Missouri;[39] Tennessee[40] 2/21 (Shelby Co., Tennessee) Yes
Epitedia wenmanni Missouri – Yes
Polygenis gwyni Florida;[41] Georgia; Mississippi; South Carolina[42] 4/29 (southwestern Georgia); 33% (Marion Co., Mississippi)[43] Yes; mainly found on the hispid cotton rat
Stenoponia americana South Carolina;[44] Tennessee[45] 1/39 (Shelby Co.) Yes

Endoparasites

Unless otherwise specified, all information in this section is from Kinsella (1988, table 1).

Nematoda

Nematodes are among the largest animal phyla and include at least 12,000 known species that are parasites of vertebrates.[46] In Kinsella's 1988 study in Florida, species diversity was higher in the saltwater marsh (Cedar Key) than the freshwater marsh (Paynes Prairie), but nematodes at Paynes Prairie occurred more commonly and made up the bulk of the parasites found in rice rats there.

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present in other species?
Aonchotheca forresteri Florida 46% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) No[47]
Capillaria gastrica Florida 4% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 6% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[48]
Capillaria hepatica Florida 8% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 6% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[49]
Hassalstrongylus forresteri Florida 92% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 9% (Cedar Key, Florida) No[50]
Hassalstrongylus lichtenfelsi Florida No
Hassalstrongylus musculi Florida Yes
Litomosoides scotti Florida 57% (Cedar Key, Florida) No[51]
Mastophorus muris Georgia;[52] Florida[53] 36% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Monodontus sp. Florida 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) –
Parastrongylus schmidti Florida 7% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 3% (Cedar Key, Florida) Not in the wild, but is able to infect other rodents in experiments[54]
Pterygodermatites ondatrae Florida 20% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 5% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Pterygodermatites sp. Florida –
Physaloptera hispida Florida 35% (Paynes Prairie, Florida) Yes
Physaloptera sp. Florida 4% (Cedar Key, Florida) –
Skrjabinoclava kinsellai Florida 28% (Cedar Key, Florida) No
Spiruridae, unidentified larvae Florida 5% (Cedar Key, Florida) –
Strongyloides sp. Florida 30% (Paynes Prairie, Florida) –
Syphacia oryzomyos Florida 42% (Paynes Prairie, Florida) No[55]
Trichostrongylus affinis Florida 14% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 6% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Trichostrongylus sigmodontis Florida 8% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 3% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes

Cestoda

Four tapeworms are known from the marsh rice rat, all in Florida, but three of those are usually found in other species and only rarely in the rice rat.[56]

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present in other species?
Hymenolepis diminuta Florida 19% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Taenia rileyi Florida 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes; usually infects bobcats
Taenia mustelae Florida 0.5% (Paynes Prairie, Florida) Yes; usually infects skunks and mustelids
Cladotaenia circi Florida 0.5% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes; usually infects hawks

Digenea

Flukes (Trematoda) from the subclass Digenea are common parasites of small mammals with complex life cycles.[57] In his 1988 study, Kinsella found an unprecedented 21 species of trematodes in Florida marsh rice rats. The intermediate hosts of these trematodes include a variety of invertebrates, fish, and amphibians, which are eaten by the marsh rice rat.[58] Trematodes were generally more common at the Cedar Key saltwater marsh than at the freshwater marsh in Paynes Prairie.[56]

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present in other species?
Acanthotrema cursitans Florida 52% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[59]
Ascocotyle angrense Florida25% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes; occurs mainly in birds[60]
Ascocotyle pindoramensis Florida 9% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes; occurs mainly in birds[61]
Brachylaima virginianum Florida 15% (Paynes Prairie, Florida) Yes; occurs mainly in the Virginia opossum[62]
Catatropis johnstoni Florida 30% (Cedar Key, Florida) No other natural definitive host known, but occurs outside the range of the marsh rice rat and the normal host may be a bird[63]
Echinochasmus schwartzi Florida 19% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[64]
Fibricola lucida Florida 67% (Paynes Prairie, Florida); 11% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[65]
Gymnophalloides heardi Florida[66] 26% (Cedar Key, Florida) No
Gynaecotyla adunca Florida 15% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes; normally infects birds[67]
Levinseniella deblocki Florida[68] 49% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Lyperosomum intermedium Florida 45% (Cedar Key, Florida) No[69]
Maritrema heardi Florida[70] 19% (Cedar Key, Florida) No[71]
Maritrema prosthometra Florida 5% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Maritrema sp. I Florida 69% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Microphallus basodactylophallus Florida 94% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[72]
Microphallus nicolli Florida 9% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[73]
Microphallus sp. Florida 10% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Notocotylus fosteri Florida[74] 3/4 (Cedar Key, Florida) No
Odhneria odhneri Florida 6% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[75]
Probolocoryphe glandulosa Florida 56% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes
Urotrema scabridum Florida23% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[76]
Zonorchis komareki Florida 1% (Cedar Key, Florida) Yes[77]

Pentastomida

Pentastomida is an enigmatic group of parasites that may be related to maxillopod crustaceans.[78] One species, Porocephalus crotali, is known from the marsh rice rat.[79] It infects various mammals in the southeastern United States, which serve as intermediate hosts; snakes which eat those mammals are the definitive hosts.[80]

Apicomplexa

Apicomplexa is a major group of unicellular eukaryotes that encompasses several important parasites, including the malaria parasite Plasmodium.[83] Three species are known from the marsh rice rat,[79] all of which belong to the Eimerina clade.[84] Two are in the genus Eimeria, members of which cause the economically significant disease coccidiosis in poultry.[85] The third is a member of Isospora, which includes species that are pathogenic in humans and pigs.[86]

Name Geographic occurrence Prevalence Present in other species?
Eimeria kinsellai Florida[87] – No
Eimeria palustris Alabama 7/19 (Tuskegee National Forest, Alabama)[88] No
Isospora hammondi Alabama[89] 3/19 (Tuskegee National Forest, Alabama)[90] No

Literature cited

Notes and References

  1. Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1152; Wolfe, 1982, p. 1; Schmidt and Engstrom, 1994, p. 914
  2. Wolfe, 1982, p. 3; Whitaker and Hamilton, 1998, p. 281
  3. Kinsella, 1988, table 1
  4. Kinsella, 1988, p. 275
  5. Kinsella, 1988, p. 279
  6. Worth, 1950, p. 334
  7. Sonenshine et al., 1993, p. 10; Levin et al., 1993, p. 12
  8. Borror and White, 1970, p. 52
  9. Clark et al., 2001, p. 1382
  10. Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 1
  11. Whitaker and Wilson, 1974, p. 4
  12. Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 3
  13. Whitaker and Wilson, 1974, p. 5
  14. Williams et al., 1999, p. 28
  15. Kollars, 1996, p. 707
  16. Kollars et al., 2000, p. 640
  17. Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 2
  18. Levine et al., 1991, p. 668
  19. Clark et al., 2001, p. 1381
  20. Levine et al., 1993, p. 8
  21. Williams et al., 1999, p. 129
  22. Sonenshine et al., 1993, p. 9
  23. Worth, 1950, p. 332
  24. Worth, 1950, p. 330
  25. Worth, 1950, p. 331
  26. Worth, 1950, p. 329
  27. Whitaker et al., 2007, p. 31
  28. Durden and Musser, 1994, p. 1
  29. Wolfe, 1982, p. 3; Pratt and Lane, 1951, p. 141
  30. Morlan, 1952, table 2
  31. Durden and Musser, 1994, p. 27
  32. Pratt and Lane, 1951, p. 142
  33. Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 4
  34. Durden et al., 1997, p. 73
  35. Durden and Musser, 1994, p. 31
  36. Durden, 1988, p. 900
  37. Medvedev and Krasnov, 2006, p. 163
  38. Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 4; Layne, 1971, p. 41
  39. Kollars et al., 1997, table 1
  40. Durden and Kollars, 1997, p. 15
  41. Layne, 1971, p. 41
  42. Durden et al., 1999, p. 176
  43. Clark and Durden, 2002, table 3
  44. Durden et al., 1999, p. 177
  45. Durden and Kollars, 1997, p. 17
  46. Morand et al., 2006, p. 67
  47. Kinsella and Pence, 1987, p. 1297
  48. Pulido-Flores et al., 2005, p. 191
  49. Meagher, 1999, p. 1318
  50. Diaw, 1976, p. 1084
  51. Forrester and Kinsella, 1973, p. 255
  52. Doran, 1955, p. 164
  53. Kinsella, 1974, p. 7
  54. Robles et al., 2008, p. 517
  55. Underwood et al., 1986, p. 411
  56. Kinsella, 1988, p. 277
  57. Feliu et al., 2006, p. 13
  58. Kinsella, 1988, p. 278
  59. Kinsella and Heard, 1974, p. 408
  60. Núñez, 1993, p. 198
  61. Simões et al., 2006, p. 503
  62. Foster et al., 2004, p. 174
  63. Bush and Kinsella, 1972
  64. Ditrich et al., 1996, p. 234
  65. Kontrimavichus, 1985, p. 80
  66. Cheng, 1995, pp. 924, 926
  67. Verberg and Hunter, 1961, p. 34
  68. Heard and Kinsella, 1995
  69. Denton and Kinsella, 1972, p. 226
  70. Kinsella and Deblock, 1995, p. 1
  71. Kinsella and Deblock, 1994, p. 95; Kinsella, 1988, p. 277
  72. Kinsella, 1974, pp. 5, 7
  73. Mayer et al., 2003, p. 77
  74. Kinsella and Tkach, 2005, p. 195
  75. Sinclair, 1971, p. 980
  76. Goldberg et al., 1998, table 1
  77. McKeever, 1971
  78. Martin and Davis, 2001, p. 24
  79. Wolfe, 1982, p. 3
  80. Brookins et al., 2009, p. 460
  81. Forrester, 1992, p. 109
  82. Forrester et al., 1970
  83. Beck et al., 2009, p. 175
  84. Beck et al., 2009, fig. 1
  85. Beck et al., 2009, p. 177
  86. Lindsay et al., 1997, p. 20
  87. Barnard et al., 1971a, p. 546
  88. Barnard et al., 1971b, p. 1294
  89. Barnard et al., 1971b, p. 1293
  90. Barnard et al., 1971b, p. 1295

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