AN ONCHOCERCA SPECIES FROM CATTLE ON KYUSHU ISLAND IS O. SUZUKII, A TRANSFUGE PARASITE FROM THE JAPANESE ENDEMIC BOVID, CAPRICORNIS CRISPUS

In 1988-1989, microfilariae of an unidentified Onchocerca species were found in the skin of eight of the 16 cattle aged at least 5 years that were examined in Oita, Kyushu, Japan. Adult worms were not found in cattle, but the microfilariae taken from skin snips, which have coiled posterior parts, were grown to the infective stage in simuliid. In 1997, both adults and microfilariae of 0. suzukii were recovered from Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus) in Yamagata, Honshu. Such microfilariae from serows, reported here for the first time, had coiled posterior parts and measurements {130-160 (mean, 140) pm long and 4-6 (5) μm wide} close to those from cattle. The findings showed that the Onchocerca sp. in cattle in Kyushu is O. suzukii, a transfuge parasite from the Japanese endemic bovid, C. crispus.