Eulimdana florencae n.sp (Nematoda:Filarioidea) from Micropalama himantopus (Aves:Charadriiformes): evidence for neonatal transmission, ephemeral adults, and long-lived microfilariae among filarioids of shorebirds

Eulimdana florencae n.sp. from Stilt Sandpipers (Micropalama himantopus (Bonaparte))(Charadriiformes:Scolopacidae) at Little Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, and Gem, Alberta, Canada, differs from its closest congener (Eulimdana pseudolari) by the lack of a cleft at the posterior extremity of the female. In addition, the microfilaria of E. florencae has a long, attenuated tail unlike that of any previously described species. Adult worms occurred in neck tissues and microfilariae in skin. Seven of 17 juvenile (less than 2 months old) Stilt Sandpipers were infected; four contained mixed sex infections and in two of these birds microfilariae were present in both the female worms and the host's skin. The remaining three infected juvenile birds contained only adult male or only adult female worms. Eight of 12 adult birds were infected; six contained only skin-inhabiting microfilariae, one contained microfilariae plus a single adult female (probably senescent), and one contained a single male. Support is provided, therefore, for a recent hypothesis predicting that Eulimdana spp. are often acquired early in life by scolopacid shorebirds, that post reproductive adult worms are ephemeral, and that the skin-inhabiting microfilariae are long-lived.