A NEW SPECIES OF HOOKWORM FROM A NORTH 

 AMERICAN RACCOON 



By Benjamin Schwartz 



Of the Zoological Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States 

 Department of Agriculture 



In the course of a post-mortem examination of a raccoon {Procyo7i 

 lotor) that was captured in Prince Georges County, Maryland, on 

 February 7, 1925, by Dr. W. S. Gochenour of the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry, a number of hookworms were found in the duodenum. 

 Associated with the parasites lesions resembling those usually pro- 

 duced by hookworms were observed in the intestinal mucosa. 



Heretofore three species of hookworms have been recorded from 

 raccoons of the genus Procyon. Molin (1861) has described Doch- 

 mius hidens and D. inaxillaris from a South American raccoon 

 {Procyon cancrivorus) . These species were transferred to the genus 

 ZJncinaria by Stossich (1899). Baylis and Daubney (1923) have 

 described a third species, Tetragomphius procyonis from a raccoon 

 {Procyon^ species) at the Zoological Garden, Calcutta, India. These 

 authors note that their species may be identical with one of Molin's 

 species but that Molin's descriptions are so incomplete that the 

 species are unrecognizable. Like Baylis and Daubney the present 

 writer has been forced to disregard Molin's species because the im- 

 perfections of the descriptions make recognition impossible. The 

 form from Procyon lotor is therefore considered to be of a new 

 species. For this species the name ZJncinaria lotoris is proposed. 



UNCINARIA LOTORIS. new species 



In their normal location on the mucosa of the intestine tlie worms 

 were considerably twisted. After being placed in hot alcohol they 

 straightened out. The cuticle is very finely striated transversely. 

 The ventral wall of the mouth capsule presents a moderate curvature 

 when viewed from the side (fig. 1). The mouth capsule is consider- 

 ably longer than broad, its actual size varying in different specimens.. 

 In lateral view, the distance from the anterior extremity of the body 

 to the base of the mouth capsule was found to vary from 162 to 216/* 



No. 2598.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 67, Art. 26 



53651—25 1 



