Endoparasites of Dipodidae with Emphasis on Mongolia

This study is focused on endoparasites of Dipodidae (Rodentia) of the world with emphasis on Mongolia. My research project is derived from part of the material that was collected during the National Science Foundation Funded: Mongolian Vertebrate Parasite Project (MVPP) which was conducted in Mongolia from 1999 to 2012. The objective of this project was to discover and describe helminth and protistan (endoparasites) parasites of vertebrates of the Gobi desert and grassland steppe regions of south central and south western Mongolia. During field expeditions, we collected complete parasite and host data (including ecto- and endoparasites) from approximately 4,175 individual mammals, 1,214 birds, and 662 reptiles. I used this data set to conduct my research. I have thus far identified parasites from 7 species of these rodents including: Allactaga balikunica Hsia and Fang, 1964, A. bullata Allen, 1925, A. sibirica Forster, 1778, Dipus sagitta Pallas, 1773, Pygeretmus pumilio Kerr, 1792, Stylodipus andrewsi Allen, 1925, and S. sungorus Sokolov and Shenbrot, 1987 (Table 1). From this data-set, I found 122 individual rodents to be infected with endoparasites. I have identified the following species: Nemata - Mastophorus muris Gmelin, 1790, Dentostomella translucida Schulz et Krepkorgorskaya, 1932, Protospirura sp. (possibly new species)., Subulura citelli Sulimov, 1961, Skrjabinocerina petrowi Matshulsky, 1952, and Syphacia obvelata, Cestoda - Catenotaenia dendritica Goeze, 1782, C. tuyae n. sp. Mesocestoides sp, Mathevotaenia sp, Versteria mustelae Gmelin, 1790, and Taenia polyacantha. Acanthocephala – Moniliformis sp. Currently, there are a little over 60 species of endoparasites known from only one third of the family Dipodidae. In this study, a new species of cestode of the genus Catenotaenia Janicki, 1904 is described from Pygeretmus pumilio Kerr, 1792 collected southwestern Gobi desert of Mongolia. Advisor: Scott L. Gardne