Helminths from the Short-tail Shrew, Blarina brevicauda, in Connecticut with Reference to the Histopathology of Capillaria

Three species of trematodes, three species of cestodes, seven species of nematodes, and one species of acanthocephalan were collected from 143 short-tail shrews from Connecticut. Necropsy reports showed that 82.5% of the shrews were infected with some kind of helminth. These included Trematoda: Brachylaima thompsoni (9.7%), B. rhomboideus (53.1%), Panopistus pricei (21.6%); Cestoda: Hymenolepis anthocephalus (14.6%), Pseudodiorchis reynoldsi (0.6%), Protogynella bla- rinae (8.3%); Nematoda: Porrocaecum americanum (13.9%), P. cncapsulatum (4.8%), Capillaria sp. (liver, 6.2%), Capillaria sp. (spleen, 0.6%), Capillaria blarinae (40.5%), C. urinicola (4.8%), Spirura talpae (0.6%); and Acanthocephala: Prosthorhynchus formosus (2.0%). The relationship of habitat type with specific helminth infections is presented. The histopathology associated with Capillaria infections is presented. A new host record is reported for Spirura talpae. Blarina brevicauda, the short-tail shrew, is an abundant insectivore in Con- necticut but its helminth fauna has not been documented except by Bray (1954) who studied the capillary worms from this host. Shrew helminth literature in the continental United States has dealt primarily with descriptions of new species. Surveys on short-tail shrew helminths have been reported from central Ohio by Oswald (1958), by Miller et al. (1974) in North Carolina, and by Wittrock and Hendrickson (1979) in Iowa. Materials and Methods This study was conducted from October 1974 to March 1975. One hundred forty-three shrews from Connecticut were examined to determine helminth species present, severity of infection, histopathology associated with such infec- tions, correlation of infection with food habits, and correlation of infection with habitat types. The study areas encompassed four habitat types: grass monocul- ture, forest, freshwater swamp, and salt marshes. Shrews were captured using small Victor snap traps and Sherman small animal live traps. Standard collection techniques for helminths were employed. Hel- minths were stained with Mayer's HC1 carmine, dehydrated in an alcohol series to toluene and mounted in Permount for identification. Nematodes were also mounted in glycerin jelly for study. Tissues were fixed in 10% formalin, dehydrated in an alcohol series, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 6 /u,m, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Specimens were deposited in the National Parasite Collection, Beltsville, Mary- land. Results Seventy-two female and 71 male shrews were trapped. Necropsy reports showed that 82.5% of the shrews were infected with some species of helminth.