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Published on: January 31, 2022
Three Nematode Species Recovered from Terrestrial Snakes in Republic of Korea
Seongjun Choe1, Junsik Lim2, Hyun Kim2
1Department of Parasitology, Medical Research Institute and Parasite Resource Bank, Chungbuk National University, School of Medicine, Cheongju 28644, Korea.
Abstract:
The majority of parasitological studies of terrestrial snakes in Korea have focused on zoonotic parasites. However, in the present study, we describe 3 unrecorded nematode species recovered from 5 species of snakes (n=6) in Korea. The examined snakes, all confiscated from illegal hunters, were donated by the Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center and Korean Broadcasting System in July 2014 and February 2015. Light and scanning electron microscopies on the shapes of spicules that are either bent or straight (kalicephalids) and the presence of the intestinal cecum (ophidascarids) figured out 3 nematodes; Kalicephalus brachycephalus Maplestone, 1931, Kalicephalus sinensis Hsü, 1934, and Ophidascaris excavata Hsü and Hoeppli, 1934. These 3 species of nematode faunas are recorded for the first time in Korea.
