First finding of nymphal stages of Linguatula serrata in a South American camelid, a vicuña from Peru

Abstract Linguatula serrata , a pentastomid, was found parasitizing the lungs of a vicuna ( Vicugna vicugna ) from Cuzco, Peru. A total of 13 larvae were found encysted in the parenchymal tissue of the lungs. All larvae were identified as nymphal stages of L. serrata by morphological methods Diagnosis was confirmed by molecular analysis amplifying the cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene of three nymphs. Nucleotide sequences from the isolates were compared to previous sequences from GenBank, and it showed high similarity between them (>99%). This finding constitutes the first detection of L. serrata in a South American camelid.