Nematofauna of Rodents of the Families Heteromyidae and Cricetidae from the Mexican Plateau.

As a part of an ongoing project to inventory the helminth parasites of rodents in Mexico, 85 specimens of 2 families of rodents were collected from the Mexican Plateau: Cricetidae ( Neotoma sp., Neotoma leucodon , Onychomys arenicola , Peromyscus sp., Peromyscus eremicus , and Reithrodontomys sp.) and Heteromyidae ( Chaetodipus sp., Chaetodipus eremicus , Chaetodipus hispidus , Dipodomys merriami , Dipodomys ordii , Dipodomys ornatus, Dipodomys spectabilis , Liomys irroratus , Perognathus sp., and Perognathus flavus ). A total of 13 taxa of helminths were found: Heteromyoxyuris longejector, Heteromyoxyuris otomii, Heteromyoxyuris sp., Onchocercidae gen. sp. 1 and sp. 2, Physalopteridae gen. sp., Protospirura dipodomis, Pterygodermatites dipodomis, Subulura sp., Syphacia sp., Trichuris dipodomis, Vexillata liomyos, and Vexillata armande. The highest species richness was recorded in D. merriami (7 taxa). This study is the first report of nematodes from O. arenicola (Physalopteridae gen. sp.) and C. eremicus (H. longejector) and for V. liomyos from D. merriami . All reports of these species of nematodes represent new collection localities in Mexico.

A new species of Heteromyoxyuris (Nematoda: Oxyuridae), parasite of Perognathus flavus (Rodentia: Heteromyidae) from Mexico.

Heteromyoxyuris otomii n. sp., which inhabits the intestinal caecum of Perognathus flavus (Heteromyidae), in Zaragoza, Hidalgo, Mexico, is described. This new species differs from the 2 other congeneric species in the morphology and length of lateral alae in males. Heteromyoxyuris deserti has simple lateral alae located at both sides of the body, whereas in the new species, these structures are double at both sides; in contrast, lateral alae of Heteromyoxyuris longejector begin at the posterior half of the body, whereas they arise in the first third in the new species. Heteromyoxyuris longejector was found in 2 new host species, i.e., Perognathus amplus and Chaetodipus hispidus. This record represents the first record for the species in Mexico, increasing its geographic distribution.