Parasites Of Southern Short-Tailed Shrews, Blarina Carolinensis (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) From Arkansas And Oklahoma, Usa

From November 2016 to October 2020, 14 adult southern short-tailed shrews, Blarina carolinensis (Bachman), were collected from Arkansas (n = 10) and Oklahoma (n = 4) and examined for parasites. All were infected and/or infested with various endo- and ectoparasites, including 3 trematodes (Brachylaima thompsoni, Ectosiphonus rhomboideus, Panopistus prices'), a cestode (Cryptocotylepis anthocephalus), 2 nematodes (Longistriata caudabullata and larval Porrocaecum sp.), an acanthocephalan cystacanth (Centrorhynchus conspectus), 3 mites (Olistrophorus blarina, Echinonyssus blarinae, and Prowichmannia cf. spinifera), and a tick (Ixodes scapularis). In addition, an epifaunistic beetle (Leptinus americanus) was found on 1 of the B. carolinensis collected. We document a new host and 9 new distributional records, and the first records of helminth parasites from any shrew from Arkansas or Oklahoma.