Myxidium serotinum (protista: myxozoa) from a Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum), in Illinois.

The Jefferson salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827) ranges from southeastern New York through Pennsylvania and eastern and southern Ohio to southern Indiana, and southward to southcentral Kentucky and northern Virginia (Conant & Collins 1998). However, because of extensive hybridization with the blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale), the precise range of novel populations is uncertain (Bogart & Klemens 1997). In Illinois, the species is listed as imperiled (S2) by the Nature Conservancy (NatureServe 2008) and has been reported from only two counties of the state (Clark and Edgar) (Brodman 2005). As such, A. jeffersonianum is listed as a threatened species in Illinois (Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board 2006).

Little is known about the endoparasites of A. jeffersonianum. Rankin (1945) reported the trematode, Brachycoelium salamandrae in A. jeffersonianum from Massachusetts, Fischthal (1955) noted unidentified immature trematodes and metacercariae from the species in New York, and Anderson (1960) documented the nematode, Cosmocercoides dukae in this salamander from Ontario, Canada. Herein is provided new host and geographic distribution records for an endoparasite of A. jeffersonianum from Illinois.

An adult female (snout-vent length = 67 mm) A. jeffersonianum was collected on 2 April 2008 by minnow trap from Zone 16 in Clark County, Illinois (39.1948[degrees]N, 87.4724[degrees]W). It was returned to the laboratory and euthanized with a dilute chloretone solution. The gall bladder was removed and processed for myxozoans according to methods of McAllister & Trauth (1995). The voucher specimen is deposited in the Arkansas State University Herpetological Museum (ASUMZ), State University, Arkansas as ASUMZ 31144. A parasite voucher was deposited in the United States National Parasite Collection (USNPC), Beltsville, Maryland as USNPC 100988.

This salamander was found to be infected with a myxozoan fitting the description of Myxidium serotinum by Kudo & Sprague (1940). Numerous free spores and spherical to ovoidal trophozoites were found in bile contents. Ovoidal bivalved spores containing two polar capsules were observed as well as finer details of the spore shell that are typical of M. serotinum (cf McAllister et al. 1995).

This parasite has been previously reported from a variety of amphibians, including at least 16 species of frogs and toads within four families and four species of salamanders within two families (McAllister & Trauth 1995; McAllister et al. 2008). Salamander hosts include the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) from Arkansas and Texas (McAllister et al. 2008), marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) from Arkansas (McAllister & Trauth 1995), small-mouthed salamander (Ambystoma texanum) from Texas (McAllister & Upton 1987), and two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) from West Virginia (Clark & Shoemaker 1973). A similar species, Myxidium melleni Jirku, Block, Whipps, Janovy, Kent & Modry, 2006 was described from western chorus frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) and Blanchard's cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi) from Nebraska (Jirku et al. 2006). More recently, M. melleni was reported in the Cajun chorus frog, Pseudacris fouquettei (=Pseudacris feriarum) from Texas by McAllister et al. (2008).

In summary, this study provides the first report of M. serotinum in a threatened salamander species (A. jeffersonianum) from Illinois. For comparative purposes, it is suggested that additional salamanders, including related A. laterale from Illinois be examined for endoparasites. Like A. jeffersonianum, A. laterale has already been reported to harbor some of the same parasites including unidentified metacercariae (Muzzall & Schinderle 1992) and B. salamandrae (Muzzall & Schinderle 1992) in Michigan, and C. dukae (Coggins & Sajdak 1982) in Wisconsin, and may share others, including M. serotinum.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for providing funding from contributions to the Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fund. The specimen was collected under an Illinois Threatened and Endangered Species Permit (#05-11S) issued to ARK. We also thank P. A. Pilitt (USNPC) and S. E. Trauth (ASUMZ) for curatorial assistance and C. R. Bursey (Penn. State-Shenango) for information on salamander parasites.

LITERATURE CITED

Anderson, R. C. 1960. On the development and transmission of Cosmocercoides dukae of terrestrial molluses in Ontario. Can. J. Zool., 38:801-825.

Bogart, J. P. & M. W. Klemens. 1997. Hybrids and genetic interactions of mole salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum and A. laterale) (Amphibia: Caudata) in New York and New England. Amer. Mus. Nov. No. 3218, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., New York. 78 pp.

Brodman, R. 2005. Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827) Jefferson salamander. Pp. 611-613, in Amphibian declines: The conservation status of United States species (M. Lannoo, ed.), Univ. California Press, xxi + 1-1094.

Clark, J. G. & J. P. Shoemaker. 1973. Eurycea bislineata (Green), the two-lined salamander, a new host of Myxidium serotinum Kudo & Sprague, 1940 (Myxosporida, Myxidiidae). J. Protozool., 20:365-366

Coggins, J. R. & R. A. Sajdak. 1982. A survey of helminth parasites in the salamanders and certain anurans from Wisconsin. Proc. Helminthol. Soc. Washington, 49:99-102.

Conant, R. & J. T. Collins. 1998. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, 3rd ed. (expanded). Houghton Mifflin, Boston. 616 pp.

Fischthal, J. H. 1955. Ecology of worn parasites in south-central New York. Amer. Midl. Nat., 53:176-183.

Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, 2006. Endangered and Threatened Species List. One Natural Resources Way. Springfield, Illinois. http://dnr.state.il.us/espb/datelist.htm

Jirku, M., M. G. Bolek, C. M. Whipps, J. Janovy, Jr., M. L. Kent & D. Modry. 2006. A new species of Myxidium (Myxosporea: Myxidiidae), from the western chorus frog, Pseudacris triseriata triseriata, and Blanchard's cricket frog, Acris crepitans blanchardi (Hylidae), from eastern Nebraska: Morphology, phylogeny, and critical comments on amphibian Myxidium taxonomy. J. Parasitol., 92:611-619.

Kudo, R. & V. Sprague. 1940. On Myxidium immersum (Lutz) and M. serotinum n. sp., two myxosporidian parasites of Salientia of South and North America. Rev. Med. Trop. Parasitol. Bacteriol. Clin. Lab., 6:65-73.

McAllister, C. T. & S. E. Trauth. 1995. New host records for Myxidium serotinum (Protozoa: Myxosporea) from North American amphibians. J. Parasitol., 81:485-488.

McAllister, C. T. & S. J. Upton. 1987. Endoparasites of the smallmouth salamander, Ambystoma texanum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from Dallas County, Texas. Proc. Helminthol. Soc. Washington, 54:258-261.

McAllister, C. T., C. R. Bursey & S. E. Trauth. 2008. New host and geographic distribution records for some endoparasites (Myxosporea, Trematoda, Cestoidea, Nematoda) of amphibians and reptiles from Arkansas and Texas, U.S.A. Comp. Parasitol., 75:241-254.

McAllister, C. T., S. E. Trauth & B. L. J. Delvinquier. 1995. Ultrastructural observations on Myxidium serotinum (Protozoa: Myxosporea) from Bufo Speciosus (Anura: Bufonidae), in Texas. J. Helminthol. Soc. Washington, 62:229-232.

Muzzall, P. M. & D. B. Schinderle. 1992. Helminths of the salamanders Ambystoma t. tigrinum and Ambystoma laterale (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from southern Michigan. J. Helminthol. Soc. Washington, 59:201-205.

Rankin, J. S., Jr. 1945. An ecological study of the helminth parasites of amphibians and reptiles of western Massachusetts and vicinity. J. Parasitol., 31:142-150.

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