PORRORCHIS NICKOLI N. SP. (ACANTHOCEPHALA: PLAGIORHYNCHIDAE) FROM MAMMALS IN SOUTHEASTERN MEXICO, FIRST KNOWN OCCURRENCE OF PORRORCHIS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE Available to Purchase

Porrorchis nickoli n. sp. is described from the intestine of the gray four-eyed opossum Philander opossum (type host), the Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana, the common opossum Didelphis marsupialis, and the white-nosed coati Nasua narica. Hosts were collected in southeastern Mexico in the Los Tuxtlas region of the state of Veracruz (type locality) and in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas. This new species is distinguished from other Porrorchis species by its small proboscis (0.286–0.428 mm long × 0.273–0.438 mm wide), a proboscis armature consisting of 22–24 vertical rows of 7 or 8 hooks per row, and the male reproductive system extending postequatorially and occupying only half of the trunk. This is the first known occurrence of a Porrorchis species in the Western Hemisphere.