Helminth Parasites of Pit Vipers from North Carolina

We surveyed for helminth parasites salvaged specimens of 27 Agkistrodon contortrix (Copperhead), 4 Agkistrodon piscivorus (Cottonmouth), and 7 Crotalus horridus (Timber Rattlesnake) collected between 2003 and 2010 from various locations in North Carolina. We detected 10 previously described helminths (2 trematodes: Ochetosoma kansensis, Travtrema stenocotyle; 1 cestode: Proteocephalus sp.; 6 nematodes: Kalicephalus inermis coronellae, Kalicephalus costatus parvus, Physalopterid larvae, Physaloptera squamatae, Capillaria colubra, Strongyloides serpentis; and 1 acanthocephalan: Macracanthorhynchid cystacanths). Herein, we report 7 new host records and 7 new geographic-distribution records with notes on host-parasite biology.