Mesocestoides sp. in Wild Northern Bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus) and Scaled Quail ( Callipepla squamata)

Abstract

Mesocestoides spp. have a cosmopolitan distribution with zoonotic potential. Mesocestoides tetrathyridia were found under the pericardial sac, on the surface of the crop, and in the peritoneal cavity of a hunter-harvested Northern Bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus) and a Scaled Quail ( Callipepla squamata) collected during the 2016-17 quail hunting season in northwest and southern Texas, US respectively. Molecular analysis indicated that the tetrathyridia from the birds likely belonged to an undescribed species and are identical to pretetrathyridium stages recently found in Scincella lateralis skinks in Oklahoma. This is the first report of Mesocestoides from North American birds.

Keywords: Callipepla squamata; Colinus virginianus; Mesocestoides; Northern Bobwhite; Scaled Quail; Texas; molecular analysis; tetrathyridia.