Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) and other parasites of White-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) in Costa Rica

Parasites were collected from 2 female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, in early June 1999. Both deer were parasitized by the ticks Amblyomma parvum and Haemaphysalis juxtakochi as well as the hippoboscid fly, Lipoptena mazamae. One deer also hosted the ticks Boophilus microplus, Ixodes affinis, and Anocentor nitens. Both deer were infected by larvae of the nasopharyngeal botfly Cephenemyia jellisoni, and the helminths Eucyathostomum webbi, Gongylonema pulchrum, Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, and Paramphistomum liorchis, whereas Setaria yehi, an undescribed species of Ashworthius, and Onchocerca cervipedis occurred in single hosts. A cysticercus of Taenia omissa was found encapsulated in the lung parenchyma of 1 host. This is the first report of these endoparasites from Central America.