New Host and Geographic Distribution Record for Chordodes morgani(Nematomorpha: Gordiida), from Oklahoma

Juvenile horsehair (gordiid) worms (Nematomorpha) are parasites of terrestrial arthropods (often crickets and beetles) and, as adults, are free–living in freshwater sites including lakes, streams, and rivers. Until recently, however (see Hanelt et al. 2005), compared to other animal phyla, gordiids have received relatively little attention. We report herein a new host and state record for Chordodes morgani. On 2 April 2012, a single Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis Linnaeus, 1758 was collected in the science wing on the campus of Eastern Oklahoma State College–Idabel, McCurtain County, Oklahoma (33.921413°N, 94.777738°W). It was subsequently found to be infected with an unknown gordiid worm. Specimens were placed in a vial containing 70% ethanol and shipped to the junior author (BH) for identification. The parasite was deposited in the University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), Parasite Division, Albuquerque, New Mexico (MSB:PARA:1394), and the host in the MSB Division of Arthropods. The gordiid worm was identified as Chordodes morgani Montgomery, 1898, using existing descriptions and a key (Schmidt– Rhaesa et al. 2003). The worm has a subterminal cloaca (therefore a male), and the anterior end is tapered. The body is light brown with dark brown patches, referred to as “leopard pattern” (Schmidt–Rhaesa et al. 2003). Cuticle consists of three types of areoles: crowned, knob-like, and finger. Chordodes morgani has previously been reported from 16 states, including Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin, but none of the Canadian Provinces (Schmidt–Rhaesa et al. 2003; Robison et al. 2012). This brings to three species (C. morgani, Gordius robustus, and Paragordius varius), the number of gordiid worms known from Oklahoma (McAllister et al. 2013). In addition, not only does this finding document a new state record for C. morgani, but is also noteworthy, since to our knowledge, the only hosts known so far for this species are Hadenoecus subterraneus (cave cricket), Ceuthophilus stygius (camel cricket) from Kentucky (Studier et al. 1991), Periplaneta fuliginosa (smoky brown cockroach) from South Carolina (Schmidt– Rhaesa et al. 2003), and Parcoblatta sp. (wood cockroach) from Missouri and South Carolina (Schmidt–Rhaesa et al. 2003).

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