Distribution and Abundance ofSebekia mississippiensis(Sebekidae) in the American Alligator,Alligator mississippiensis

Morphological, Molecular, and Histopathological Data for Sebekia mississippiensis Overstreet, Self, and Vliet, 1985 (Pentastomida: Sebekidae) in the American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis Daudin, and the Spotted Gar, Lepisosteus oculatus Winchell

“…Ranges were consistent with previously reported values for S. mississippiensis adults and nymphs (Overstreet et al, 1985;Riley et al, 1990). Additionally, voucher specimens of nymphs and adults deposited by Overstreet et al (1985) and Tellez et al (2014) as S. mississippiensis were confirmed to be conspecific with the specimens from the present study. Measurements reported here are rounded to the nearest micrometer and presented in the following format: range (average).…”

“…This complicates efforts to compare specimens between studies. Additionally, several studies do not describe parasite morphology directly (Deakins, 1971;Hazen et al, 1978;Boyce et al, 1984Boyce et al, , 1987Boyce, 1985;Tellez et al, 2014), requiring readers to either take the authors at their word regarding species identification or, where available, reexamine voucher specimens. Unfortunately, this undermines the utility of such studies and confounds efforts to better understand the systematics of these enigmatic parasites.…”

“…Voucher specimens deposited by previous authors yet lacking published morphometric data were borrowed from their respective institutions and subjected to nondestructive morphometric analysis. These included whole mounts of nymphs from alligators as well as whole nymphs in vials from G. affinis deposited by Overstreet et al (1985) as well as whole nymphs and adults in vials from alligators deposited by Tellez et al (2014). The type specimens for S. mississippiensis of Overstreet et al (1985) were also examined and measured.…”

Pentastome assemblages of the Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti (Reptilia: Crocodylidae), in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

“…This is contrary to studies in the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin) (Alligatoridae), where prevalence and intensity of infection with S. mississippiensis Overstreet, Self et Vliet, 1985 was found to increase with size and its related age classes (Moreland et al 1989, Tellez et al 2014. Tellez et al (2014) attributed their observations to a shift in the dietary preferences of alligators from a predominance of invertebrate prey in juveniles to mainly fish in subadults and adults, as well as to the ability of larger/older animals to capture larger intermediate fish or paratenic hosts, which can harbour heavier parasite burdens than smaller hosts.…”

“…Differences in habitat preference or prey selection between the two sexes might lead to variance in the exposure of male and female crocodiles to different intermediate hosts and/or varying numbers thereof, especially if the intermediate hosts themselves have spatially heterogeneous distributions. In American alligators, males and females were found to utilise different niches within the same habitat with a resulting difference in prey selection (Tellez et al 2014). Although O. mossambicus (syn.…”