Endoparasites of the endemic Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus

The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus is an endemic subspecies of Mountain hare and Ireland's only native lagomorph. The endoparasite community composition of the Irish hare was examined from 22 carcasses opportunistically sourced from wildlife strike events (with aircraft and vehicles) from...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wildlife Biology
Main Authors: Ball, Samantha, Kelly, Thomas C., Butler, Fidelma
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00717
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2981/wlb.00717
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.2981/wlb.00717
Description
Summary:The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus is an endemic subspecies of Mountain hare and Ireland's only native lagomorph. The endoparasite community composition of the Irish hare was examined from 22 carcasses opportunistically sourced from wildlife strike events (with aircraft and vehicles) from three counties in the Republic of Ireland. Three parasite taxa were identified from the stomach and small intestines: Trichostrongylus retortaeformis , Graphidium strigosum and a tapeworm belonging to the genus Mosgovoyia . Overall, 50% of hares examined were host to at least one endoparasite taxon and 18% were host to more than one taxon. There was no significant correlation between parasite burden and host weight. This is the first known study of endoparasites in the Irish hare.