Southwestern Association of Naturalists

Gastrointestinal Helminths of the Mexican Horned Lizards, Phrynosoma braconnieri and

Phrynosoma taurus (Iguanidae)
Author(s): Stephen R. Goldberg and Charles R. Bursey
Source: The Southwestern Naturalist, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Sep., 1991), pp. 365-368
Published by: Southwestern Association of Naturalists
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3671694
Accessed: 04-11-2015 05:28 UTC

REFERENCES
Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3671694?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents

You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Southwestern Association of Naturalists is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The
Southwestern Naturalist.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 142.66.3.42 on Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:28:26 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 1991
September Notes 365

1984, 1987, and 1988, and no Baiomysweretaken. LITERATURE CITED

Apparently,southwesternOklahoma was only
colonizedrecentlyby Baiomys.
Winter-killsmay prevent range extensions
(Stangl and Dalquest, 1986; Stangl and Kasper,
1987). The winter of 1988 in Oklahoma was
milderthan previousyears. The Oklahoma Cli-
matological Survey (Norman, Oklahoma) de-
scribedDecember 1988 as rankingin thewarmest
10 of the last 40 years of recordin Oklahoma.
These conditionsmay have been favorable to
Baiomysand allowed establishmentof the pop-
ulation in southwesternOklahoma. Continued
samplingaftermore severewinterswill help de-
terminethe impactcold weatherhas on dispersal
of Baiomys.Extensiveagriculture(cottonmono-
cultures)has been suggestedas a barrierto dis-
persal of Baiomys(Jones and Manning, 1989).
This localityin southwesternOklahoma is bor-
dered on the northby extensivefarming.How-
ever,numerousgrassyand weedyroadsideditches
mayallow Baiomysto dispersenorthwardthrough
Oklahoma as in Texas (Hart, 1972).
Studentsin the 1989 mammalogyclass at Cen-
tral State University(G. Buck, C. Gonzalez, H.
Kihega, K. Melton, and T. Payne) helpedcollect
the specimens.J. Estes, C. and R. Overbo, and
R. Thompson identifiedthe grasses.
T. L., ANDJ. A. KITCHENS.1986. Expan-
AUSTIN,
sion of Baiomystayloriinto HardemanCounty,
Texas. SouthwesternNat.,31:547.
CLEVELAND,A. G. 1986. Firstrecordof Baiomys
taylorinorthof the Red River. SouthwesternNat.,
31:547.
DALQUEST,W. W., ANDN. V. HORNER. 1984. Mam-
mals ofnorthcentral Texas. MidwesternStateUniv.
Press, Wichita Falls, Texas, 261 pp.
HART,B. J. 1972. Distributionofthepygmymouse,
Baiomys taylori,in north central Texas. South-
westernNat., 17:197-216.
HOLLANDER,R. R., J. K. JONES,JR.,R. W. MANNING,
AND C. JONES. 1987. Noteworthyrecords of
mammalsfromtheTexas Panhandle. Texas J. Sci.,
39:97-102.
JONES,J. K., JR.,ANDR. W. MANNING. 1989. The
northernpygmymouse,Baiomystaylori, on theTex-
as Llano Estacado. Texas J. Sci., 41:110.
PITTS, R. M., AND M. J. SMOLEN. 1989. Status of
Baiomystayloriin Texas, withnew localitiesofrec-
ord in the southernpart of the state.Southwestern
Nat., 41:85-88.
STANGL, F. B., JR., AND W. B. DALQUEST. 1986.
recordsof Oklahomamammals.
Two noteworthy
Nat.,31:123-124.
Southwestern
STANGL,F. B., JR.,ANDS. KASPER. 1987. Evidence
of communalnestingand winter-killin a popula-
tion of Baiomystaylorifromnorth-centralTexas.
Texas J. Sci., 39:292-293.

GASTROINTESTINAL HELMINTHS OF THE MEXICAN HORNED LIZARDS,

PHRYNOSOMA BRACONNIERI AND PHRYNOSOMA TAURUS
(IGUANIDAE)

STEPHEN R. GOLDBERG AND CHARLES R. BURSEY

DepartmentofBiology,Whittier CA 90608
College,Whittier,
DepartmentofBiology,PennsylvaniaState University,
ShenangoValleyCampus,
147Shenango PA 16146
Sharon,
Avenue,

The horned lizard, Phrynosomabraconnieri We examined 11 P. braconnieriand five P.

Dum6ril and Bocourt, 1870, occurs in the ex-
tremesouthernedge of the centralMexican pla-
teau, particularlyin semi-aridregionsof Puebla,
Oaxaca, and perhapsVeracruz. Phrynosoma tau-
rus Duges, 1868, is known fromthe Mexican
statesofPuebla and Guerrero(Smithand Taylor,
1950). To our knowledge,there are no reports
ofhelminthparasitismin thesespecies.The pur-
pose of thisnote is to reportintestinalhelminths
fromthesetwo Mexican hornedlizards.
taurus from the Collection of Vertebrates
(UTACV), The UniversityofTexas at Arlington
(Appendix 1). Specimensof P. braconnieri were
fromthe Mexican statesof Puebla and Oaxaca;
P. tauruswere fromPuebla.
Esophagus, stomach,small intestine,and large
intestinewere examinedseparately.Organs were
slit longitudinallyand examined under a dis-
sectingmicroscope.Each recoveredhelminthwas
placed on a microscopeslide in a drop of undi-

This content downloaded from 142.66.3.42 on Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:28:26 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
366 TheSouthwestern
Naturalist vol.36,no. 3

TABLE 1--Host and localityrecordsforDiochetosphrynosomatis

in North America.

Host Locality Prevalence Reference

Phrynosomabraconnieri Mexico 9% (1/11) Presentstudy

cornutum
Phrynosoma Kansas 17% (1/6) Loewen, 1940
Texas 57% (4/7) Harwood, 1932
Texas 48% (13/27) Vincent,1948
Phrynosoma
platyrhinos Idaho 40% (4/10) Lyon, 1986
Nevada 11% (11/104) Babero and Kay, 1967
Utah Not given Grundmann,1959
taurus
Phrynosoma Mexico 20% (1/5) Presentstudy

TABLE 2-Host and localityrecordsforSkrjabinoptera in North America.

phrynosoma

Host Locality Prevalence Reference

Iguanidae
Anoliscarolinensis Florida, South 10% (5/50) Morgan, 1942
Carolina, Florida
Gambeliawislizenii Idaho 14% (2/14) Lyon, 1986
Phrynosomabraconnieri Mexico 18% (2/11) Presentstudy
Phrynosomacoronatum California 33% (1/3) Telford, 1970
Phrynosomacornutum Mexico Not given Caballero, 1937
New Mexico 100% (8/8) Morgan, 1942
Oklahoma 30% (12/40) Morgan, 1942
Texas 95% (19/20) Morgan, 1942
Texas 75% (18/24) Lee, 1955
Texas 43% (3/7) Harwood, 1932
Texas 63% (17/27) Vincent,1948
Phrynosoma
douglassi California Not given Morgan, 1942
Mexico Not given Caballero, 1937
Phrynosomam'calli California 100% (2/2) Telford,1970
Phrynosoma
platyrhinos California,Idaho Not given Morgan, 1942
Utah
California 67% (2/3) Telford, 1970
Idaho 33% (1/3) Waitz, 1961
Idaho 60% (6/10) Lyon, 1986
Nevada 97% (101/104) Babero and Kay, 1967
Utah 100% (7/7) Woodbury,1934
Utah Not given Grundmann,1959
solare
Phrynosoma Arizona 79% (11/14) Benes, 1985
Arizona 75% Hannum, 1941
Mexico Not given Caballero, 1937
Phrynosomataurus Mexico 20% (1/5) Presentstudy
Sceloporusgraciosus California 47% (7/15) Stebbinsand Robinson, 1946
Sceloporusmagister Arizona 2% (1/52) Benes, 1985
Arizona Not given Hannum, 1941
Utah 27% (3/11) Pearce and Tanner, 1973
Sceloporusoccidentalis Idaho 20% (1/5) Waitz, 1961
Sceloporusspinosus Mexico Not given Caballero, 1937
Sceloporusundulatus Utah 64% (7/11) Pearce and Tanner, 1973
Uma notata California 88% (21/24) Telford,1970
Uma inornata California 53% (8/15) Telford,1970
Uma scoparia California 100% (3/3) Telford,1970
Teiidae
burti
Cnemidophorus Arizona 2% (1/57) Goldbergand Bursey, 1989
Cnemidophorus
tigris California 2% (1/49) Telford, 1970

This content downloaded from 142.66.3.42 on Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:28:26 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 1991
September Notes 367

luted glycerol.A coverslipwas added, and the teiid lizards (Table 2); the mean prevalencefor
slide was set aside until the helminthbecame all the reportedhost species harboringS. phry-
transparent.Each helminthwas examined and nosoma is 46% (271/594). Lee (1957) experi-
identifiedusingthisglycerol-wet-mount method. mentallyshowedthattheant Pogonomyrmex bar-
Selected nematodes were subsequently stained batus served as an intermediatehost for S.
with iodine, and selected cestodes were later phrynosoma. Pearce and Tanner (1973) suggested
stainedwith hematoxylin. that several species of ants may serve as inter-
One speciesofcestode,Diochetosphrynosomatis mediate hosts for this parasite. The degree of
Harwood, 1932, and one species of nematode, infectionby S. phrynosomais apparentlydeter-
Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma (Ortlepp, 1922), were mined by the dietarypreferencesof lizards.
recoveredfromboth species of lizards. Three of We thank R. R. Montanucci for suggesting
11 P. braconnieri containednematodesor cestodes this project,J. A. Campbell for permissionto
fora prevalenceof 27%, two of fiveP. taurushad examinespecimensdepositedin the Collectionof
nematodesor cestodesfor a prevalenceof 40%. Vertebrates,The Universityof Texas at Arling-
There were no concurrentinfectionswith ces- ton, and R. Tawil forassistancein collectionof
todes and nematodes.These findingsrepresent parasites.
new hostrecords.Representativespecimenswere
depositedin the United StatesNational Parasite
LITERATURE CITED
Collection (Beltsville, Maryland: D. phrynoso-
matis(81217 forP. braconnieri, 81219 forP. tau- BABERO,B. B., AND F. R. KAY. 1967. Parasites of
rus); S. phrynosoma(81218 for P. braconnieri, hornedtoads (Phrynosoma spp.), withrecordsfrom
81220 forP. taurus). Nevada. J. Parasitol., 53:168-175.
Diochetos phrynosomatiswas originally de- BENES, E. S. 1985. Helminth parasitism in some
scribedfroma Texas hornedlizard,Phrynosoma centralArizonalizards.Southwestern Nat., 30:467-
collectedin Harris Co., Texas (Har- 473.
cornutum,
D. R., ANDM. A. MAYES. 1976.
wood, 1932). It has only been reportedfromthe BROOKS, variationin naturalinfectionsof Morpho-
logical Oochoristica
genus Phrynosoma(Table 1). The mean preva- bivitellobataLoewen, 1940 (Cestoidea: Anoploce-
lence in all reportedspecies harboringD. phry-
phalidae). Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci., 3:20-21.
nosomatisis 21% (35/170). A second species, CABALLERO, E. C. 1937. Nemaitodosde algunos ver-
Diochetosparvovaria,taken froma single P. cor- tebradosdel valle del Mezquital, Hgo. Ann. Inst.
nutumcollectedin Oklahoma was describedby Biol. Univ. Nac. Mexico, 8:189-200.
Steelman (1939). It has not been reportedsince. GOLDBERG,S. R., AND C. R. BURSEY. 1989. Hel-
We questionthe validityof thisspecies since the minthsofthegiantspottedwhiptail,Cnemidophorus
only difference between D. parvovaria and D. burtistictogrammus (Sauria: Teiidae). Proc. Hel-
is D. about minthol.Soc. Washington,56:86-87.
phrynosomatis size, parvovaria being
one third the length of D. phrynosomatis. The GRUNDMANN, A. W. 1959. Parasites recoveredfrom
six species of Utah lizards. J. Parasitol., 45:394.
dwarfingofhelminthsby crowdinghas been doc-
HANNUM,C. A. 1941. Nematode parasites of Ari-
umented by Morgan (1942), Babero and Kay zona vertebrates. Unpubl. Ph.D. dissert.,Univ.
(1967), and Brooksand Mayes (1976). Fifty-two Washington,Seattle, 153 pp.
specimensof D. parvovariawere recoveredfrom HARWOOD,P. D. 1932. The helminthsparasitic in
the single host lizard. The lifecycleof members the Amphibia and Reptilia of Houston, Texas and
of the genus Diochetosis not known; however, vicinity.Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus., 81:1-71.
insectsand mitesserveas intermediatehostsfor LEE, S. H. 1955. The modeofegg dispersalin Physa-
anoplocephalidcestodes(Schmidt,1986). lopteraphrynosomaOrtlepp (Nematoda: Spiruro-
Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma was placed
originally idea), a gastricnematodeof Texas hornedtoads,
Phrynosoma cornutum. J. Parasitol., 41:70-74.
in thegenusPhysaloptera by Ortlepp (1922) who _ 1957. The life cycleof Skrjabinoptera
P. cornutum and
_. phry-
describedit fromthestomachsof nosoma (Ortlepp) Schulz, 1927 (Nematoda: Spi-
Phrynosomasolare that had died in the London ruroidea),a gastricnematodeofTexas hornedtoads,
Zoo. Schulz (1927) placed it in its currenttax- Phrynosoma cornutum. J. Parasitol., 43:66-75.
onomic position. It is the best known stomach LOEWEN,S. L. 1940. On some reptiliancestodesof
wormof reptilesand is widelydistributedacross the genus Oochoristica(Anoplocephalidae). Trans.
the westernstatesand Mexico. In North Amer- Amer. Microscopic Soc., 59:511-518.
ica, it has been reported from both iguanid and LYON, R. E. 1986. Helminth parasites of six lizard

This content downloaded from 142.66.3.42 on Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:28:26 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
368 TheSouthwestern
Naturalist vol.36,no.3

speciesfromsouthernIdaho. Proc. Helminthol.Soc. endoparasitism amongsome southernCalifornia

Washington,53:291-293. lizardpopulations.Amer.MidlandNat., 53:516-
MORGAN,B. B. 1942. The nematode genus Skrja- 554.
binopteraSchulz, 1927. Lloydia, 5:314-319. VINCENT,1. 1948. Studieson theendoparasites of
ORTLEPP, R. 1922. The nematodegenusPhysaloptera the Texas hornedlizardsPhrynosoma cornutum
Rud. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 72:999-1107. (Harlan). Proc.Texas Acad.Sci.,30:250-252.
PEARCE, R. C., AND W. W. TANNER. 1973. Hel- WAITZ,J. A. 1961. Parasitesof Idaho reptiles.J.
minthsof Sceloporuslizards in the Great Basin and Parasitol.,47:51.
upper Colorado plateau ofUtah. Great Basin Nat., WOODBURY,L. A. 1934. Noteson someparasites of
33:1-18. Copeia,1934:51-52.
threeUtah reptiles.
SCHMIDT, G. D. 1986. Handbook oftapewormiden-
tification.CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 675
PP. APPENDIX1
SCHULZ, R. E. 1927. Die familie Physalopteridae
Leiper, 1908 (Nematodes) und die prinzipienihrer
Phrynosoma UTACV R-11393,10 Au-
braconnieri:
klassifikation.Pp. 287-312, in Sammlunghelmin-
gust 1983,Acatepec, Puebla,elev.2,000m,smallin-
tologischerarbeitenProf.K. I. Skrjabingewidmet. 5 D. phrynosomatis;
testine, UTACV R-4348,19 June
Moscow. 1974,Cacaloapan,Puebla,elev.2,195m, stomach, 5
SMITH, H. M., AND E. H. TAYLOR. 1950. An an- S. phrynosoma; UTACV R-4594,17 June1974,Ca-
notatedchecklistand key to the reptilesof Mexico
caloapan,Puebla,elev.1,951m, stomach, 6 S. phry-
exclusiveofthe snakes. Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 199:
nosoma;noparasitesfound inUTACV R-4222;R-4588,
1-253. R-4837, R-4838, R-4840, R-7732, R-11391, and
R-11392.
STEBBINS,R. C., ANDH. B. ROBINSON.1946. Further
analysis of a population of the lizard Sceloporus
Phrynosoma taurus:UTACV R-4841, 23 August
1975,ZapotitlinSalinas,Puebla,elev.1,676m,small
graciosus.Univ. CaliforniaPubl. Zool., 48:149-167.
STEELMAN, G. M. 1939. A new cestode fromthe 7 D. phrynosomatis;
intestine, UTACV R-11388,May
Texas horned lizard. Trans. Amer. Microscopic
1981,Caltepec,Puebla,elev.1,800m,stomach, 12 S.
Soc.,58:452-455. phrynosoma; no parasitesfoundin UTACV R-11389,
TELFORD,S. R., JR. 1970. A comparativestudyof R-11390,and R-11394.

MONERAN POPULATIONS INDIGENOUS TO AN ARTESIAN COMMUNITY WITHIN

THE EDWARDS AQUIFER

ROBERT D. KOEHN, KEVIN A. KUEHN, AND RORY M. O'NEIL

San Marcos, TX 78666

DepartmentofBiology,SouthwestTexas State University,
PresentaddressofKAK: HowardHughesMedicalInstitute,University MedicalResearchCenter,
ofTexasSouthwestern
Dallas, TX 75235
PresentaddressofRMO: DepartmentofNaturalScience,University ofHouston-Downtown, Houston,TX 77002

The Edwards Aquiferof centralTexas (Hays is throughallochthonousimport(Vandel, 1965;

Co.) is a subterraneanecosystemwhichsupports
over 40 troglobiticanimal species, 23 of which
are indigenousto a single artesian well in San
Marcos, Texas (Holsinger and Longley, 1980;
Longley, 1981; Hershler and Longley, 1986;
Kroschewsky,1990). The availabilityoffoodand
energyto such diverse populations within this
aphoticcommunity has beenopen to investigation
forsometime(Longley,1981; Kuehn and Koehn,
1988). The lack of primaryproductivity within
aphotic ecosystemsas a whole dictatesthat the
major nutritionalinputforthe bioticcommunity
Barr, 1967; Poulson and Culver, 1969; Poulson
and White, 1969; Barr and Kuehne, 1971). Au-
tochthonousinputin termsof chemolithotrophic
bacterialpopulationshas been reportedfromoth-
er aphotic ecosystems(Caumartin, 1963); how-
ever,many investigatorsconsideredtheirnutri-
tional input in termsof total biomass negligible
as comparedtotransported organicmaterial(Barr,
1967; Barr and Kuehne, 1971).
Previousinvestigators have indicatedthe cru-
cial role of microbial organismsin the decom-
position and energy release of potential food

This content downloaded from 142.66.3.42 on Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:28:26 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions