Infection Experiments Indicate That Common Florida Anurans and Lizards May Serve as Intermediate Hosts for the Invasive Pentastome Parasite, Raillietiella orientalis

Raillietiella orientalis, an invasive pentastome parasite, inhabits the lungs of snakes as adults and is rapidly spreading in Florida and Australia. The species that serve as intermediate hosts are currently unknown. We conducted laboratory infection experiments with insects (Blaberus discoidalis), lizards (Anolis sagrei), and anurans (Anaxyrus terrestris, Lithobates sphenocephalus, Osteopilus septentrionalis) to develop an understanding of which species may serve as intermediate hosts and to determine the fitness consequences of infection by R. orientalis. Lizards and insects, but not anurans, were readily infected by consuming food that was contaminated with pentastome eggs. Anolis sagrei and L. sphenocephalus were both infected after eating a single roach that was infected with R. orientalis larvae. Comparison with uninfected control animals revealed that pentastome infection did not significantly affect survival or growth in roaches, lizards, or anurans. The life cycle of R. orientalis in Florida is likely to involve a sequence of three hosts, with eggs hatching in coprophagous insects that infect lizards and anurans that infect the definitive host (snakes) after they are consumed. Our results indicate that the native species that serve as intermediate hosts are unlikely to experience major negative consequences from R. orientalis, unlike the native snake species that serve as the definitive hosts. The diversity of species that can serve as intermediate hosts and the potential for vehicular rafting by infected roaches and anoles indicate that the rapid geographic range expansion of R. orientalis will probably continue.