Helminths of the arctic fox, Alopex lagopus (L.), in Greenland

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Rausch, R. L., Fay, F. H., Williamson, F. S. L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1983
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; Thule Air Base; Alopex lagopus; Arctic Fox; Søndre strømfjord; Thule Air; Thule
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z83-237; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z83-237

Eight species of intestinal helminths were obtained from 38 arctic foxes, Alopex lagopus (L.), from two localities in Greenland (Thule Air Base and Søndre Strømfjord), viz., Echinoparyphium sp., 13%; Plagiorchis elegans (Rudolphi, 1802), 45%; Cryptocotyle concavum (Creplin, 1825), <3%; Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Nitzsch, 1824), 10%; Taenia ovis krabbei Moniez, 1879, 13%; Mesocestoides lineatus (Goeze, 1782), 13%; Toxascaris leonina (von Linstow, 1902), 39%; and Uncinaria stenocephala (Railliet, 1884), <3%. New host and geographic records are reported. Cestodes for which rodents are obligatory intermediate hosts were not recorded, suggesting that the series of foxes was drawn from local populations inhabiting the western coast of Greenland. Helminth–host interactions are briefly discussed.