Paracapillaria (Ophidiocapillaria) sp. (Nematoda: Capillariidae) from the Scent Glands of Agkistrodon piscivorus, Nerodia erythrogaster, and Nerodia fasciata in North Carolina, U.S.A.

Previous parasitological studies on snake hosts have not reported helminths localized to the scent glands or even acknowledged dissection of the scent glands as standard practice. While performing a routine necropsy of a banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata), we found adult Paracapillaria (Ophidiocapillaria) sp. (Nematoda: Capillariidae) and their eggs to be the cause of swelling and potential impaction of the scent glands. Further necropsies revealed these nematodes to also be present in the scent glands of cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) and plain-bellied watersnakes (Nerodia erythrogaster). Based on preliminary morphological and molecular analyses, we suspect these specimens do not represent any described species of U.S. Paracapillaria (Ophidiocapillaria), but further morphological work is needed. We provide cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences to further our understanding of snake capillariids and to encourage future workers to find and describe scent gland Paracapillaria.