The Case of Detecting Cestodes in Mole-Rat Nannospalax xanthodon in Georgia

The aim of the current study was to investigate the helminth fauna of the mole-rat, Nannospalax xanthodon (Rodentia, Spalacidae), inhabiting the Javakheti plateau in southern Georgia. Three molerats were captured at the site of Aspindza and Akhalkalaki municipalities. As a result of complete helminthological examination, only cestodes were found in the small intestine. The material was processed using the methods accepted in helminthology. All mole-rats were infested. The intensity of invasion was 1-2 specimens per animal. The morphometric study of cestodes was performed. Comparing the morphological and morphometric data of scolex, neck, proglottides and eggs of the studied helminths with the data known in the literature, we consider that cestodes, first discovered in the mole-rat N. xanthodon in southern Georgia, belong to the order Cyclophyllidea (Braun, 1900), family Anoplocephalidae (Cholodkowsky, 1902) and to the genus Paranoplocephala Lűhe, 1910. © 2022 Bull. Georg. Natl. Acad. Sci.