Eastern Box Turtle Parasites 91 



1961, Skrjabin et al. 1964) rejected this, but Chabaud (1978) considered 

 Falcaustra to be the valid genus for this group. We follow Chapin 

 (1924) in rejecting Falcaustra and continue to use Spironoura because 

 Leidy's original description, although brief by today's standards, is 

 sufficient to distinguish the genus, giving Spironoura priority. 



About 50 species of Spironoura have been described from fishes, 

 reptiles, and amphibians worldwide (Skrjabin et al. 1964). Mackin 

 (1936) published a thorough study of the anatomy of the genus Spironoura 

 and a key to the species from the United States. Five species of 

 Spironoura have been reported from Terrapene Carolina in the United 

 States: Spironoura affinis Leidy, 1856; S. longispicula (Walton, 1927); 

 S. cryptobranchi Walton, 1930; S. chelydrae (Harwood, 1930); and S. 

 concinnae Mackin, 1936. Canavan (1929) described S. procera from 

 the same host, Pseudemys rubriventris (=Emys serata), and from the 

 same locality where Leidy worked, i.e., Philadelphia. Harwood (1930) 

 is the only other investigator to have reported the presence of Spironoura 

 procera, but he said that it was not sufficiently distinct from S. 

 affinis to merit specific status. Harwood's (1932) work, plus our own 

 study of S. affinis and examination of the specimen from the U.S. 

 National Museum Helminthological Collection, Beltsville, Maryland 

 marked "Spironoura procera? (No. 52145)," suggest that S. affinis, S. 

 procera, and S. gracile are all members of the same species. We 

 also borrowed specimens identified as S. concinnae, collected from 

 Terrapene Carolina in Mississippi, from the U.S. National Museum 

 Helminthological Collection (No. 66152). Comparison with specimens 

 of S. affinis collected from the same host in North Carolina convinced 

 us that Caballero (1939) was correct in considering S. concinnae as a 

 synonym of S. affinis. We have followed Yamaguti's (1961) designation 

 of Spironoura affinis to minimize confusion. However, this diverse 

 and complex genus needs revision. 



Cosmocercoides dukae (Holl, 1928) — Cosmocercoides dukae is a 

 common parasite of amphibians. Holl (1928) originally described C. 

 dukae (=Cosmocerca dukae) from a newt collected in Durham, North 

 Carolina. Harwood (1932), apparently unaware of Holl's work, described 

 the same species as Oxysomatium variablis and listed 10 species of 

 amphibian and reptile hosts. Harwood's experimental attempts to 

 demonstrate host infection by skin penetration were not successful, 

 but he felt that a direct life cycle was probable. Ogren (1953, 1959) 

 demonstrated the nematode's ability to complete its life cycle in a 

 variety of gastropod species, including Ashmunella rhyssa (Dall), Triodopsis 

 (=Polygyra) fosteri (Baker), Retinella sp. Fischer, and Deroceras sp. 

 Rafinesque. Anderson (1960) described the life cycle of C. dukae in 

 Discus cronkhitei (Newcombe), Zonitoides aboreus (Say), and Deroceras 



