Raillietiella orientalis
is an obligate, crustacean parasite that resides in the respiratory tract of definitive snake hosts. Common throughout southeastern Asia and Australia,
R. orientalis
is believed to have been introduced into southern Florida, United States along with Burmese pythons (
Python bivittatus
) in the 1990s. While the invasive range of Burmese pythons is restricted to southern Florida,
R. orientalis
has advanced north in the state in native snake species.
R. orientalis
were recovered from the lungs, trachea, oral cavity, and esophagus of an emaciated adult female free-ranging banded water snake (
Nerodia fasciata
) in north central (Alachua County), Florida, USA. Concurrent findings included the recovery of
Ochetosoma
sp. trematodes from the oral cavity, and multifocal dermal lesions consistent with snake fungal disease (
Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola
). This is the first report of
R. orientalis
in north central Florida, well outside the invasive range of the Burmese python, documenting the substantial northward expansion of the known geographical range of this invasive pentastome in Florida.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.