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A review of the nematode assemblage of the Australian bush rat, Rattus fuscipes (Muridae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2025

L.R. Smales Open the ORCID record for L.R. Smales [Opens in a new window]
L.R. Smales*
Affiliation:
South Australian Museum , Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia School of Health Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4700, Australia
*
Corresponding author: L.R. Smales; Email: l.warner@cqu.edu.au
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Abstract

Nematode records and specimens from the South Australian Museum, Australian Museum, CSIRO Wildlife Collection, Queensland Museum, Western Australian Museum, and Natural History Museum, London, of 1107 individuals of Rattus fuscipes were examined. The nematode community comprised 19 families, 36 genera, and 44 identified species. Mastophorus muris and unidentified heligmonellids were recovered from 4 individuals of R. f. fuscipes. Rattus f. assimilis was infected with 40 identified species of nematode from 955 individuals; R. f. coracius 18 species from 107 individuals; and R. f. greyii 8 species from 28 individuals. Rattus fuscipes harboured 18 species in Northern Queensland, 27 species in Southern Queensland, 27 species in New South Wales, 19 species in Victoria, and 8 species in South Australia. A bootstrap analysis of the R. f. greyii nematode community indicated that 91.3% of species had been found. No core species were revealed. The Trichostrongylidae dominated with Nippostrongylus magnus, and Odilia emanuelae occurring in all the populations. Nippostrongylus magnus, 43% prevalence, in Victoria and Physaloptera troughtoni, 42% prevalence, in South Australia were secondary species. Sorensen’s indices indicated that R. f. assimilis and R. f. coracius had the most similar nematode communities, 54.8%. Overall, the Northern and Southern Queensland populations were most similar (77.3%) and the New South Wales and South Australian populations least similar (22.9%). The identifications of Heterakis spumosa, Physaloptera troughtoni, Rictularia mackerrasae, and Pterygodermatites pearsoni were confirmed. The species composition of the nematode community of R. fuscipes suggested a scenario of coevolution, host switching, recently acquired and occasional infections in a community of cosmopolitan, regional, and indigenous species. Species throughout the component communities of R. fuscipes indicated that climate and habitat were also determinants of species composition.

Keywords

Rattus fuscipesNematodaCommunitiesGeographic distributionAustralia

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Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 99 , 2025 , e126
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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