Occurrence of Nematode Parasites in Raptors in Beijing, China

From 2003–05, we collected the carcasses of 200 dead raptors (of nine species) that had died during rehabilitation at the Beijing Raptor Rescue Center, and analyzed them for the presence of nematode parasites. We observed that a large number of these raptors carried nematode parasites (88 of 200; 44.0% infection rate). In total, we documented the presence of 17 genera of nematodes, belonging to 11 families. The majority of parasites were found in the intestines, followed by the mouth cavity, stomach, and esophagus. The most common nematode parasite was Procyrnea spp. followed by Synhimantus spp., Pseudaprocta spp., Contracaecum spp. and Physaloptera spp. One new species of nematode, Synhimantus (Dispharynx) oti sp. nov. was identified. Furthermore, we documented the first known occurrence of five nematode parasite species in raptors in China.