Case Report: Invasive Pentastomes,(Sambon, 1922), in a Free-Ranging Banded Water Snake () in North Central Florida, USA.

Abstract

is an obligate, crustacean parasite that resides in the respiratory tract of definitive snake hosts. Common throughout southeastern Asia and Australia,is believed to have been introduced into southern Florida, United States along with Burmese pythons () in the 1990s. While the invasive range of Burmese pythons is restricted to southern Florida,has advanced north in the state in native snake species.were recovered from the lungs, trachea, oral cavity, and esophagus of an emaciated adult female free-ranging banded water snake () in north central (Alachua County), Florida, USA. Concurrent findings included the recovery ofsp. trematodes from the oral cavity, and multifocal dermal lesions consistent with snake fungal disease (). This is the first report ofin north central Florida, well outside the invasive range of the Burmese python, documenting the substantial northward expansion of the known geographical range of this invasive pentastome in Florida.