title: Asexual multiplication of tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti in Crotalus viridis viridis.
abstract: Prairie rattlesnakes, Crotalus viridis viridis Rafinesque, 1818, were infected with tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti Hoeppli, 1925, by means of oral intubation. Snakes were maintained at constant temperatures of either 25, 30, or 35 C for 4-24 wk. Postmortem examinations revealed the first experimental evidence of asexual multiplication of tetrathyridia in a laboratory-infected ectothermic host. Time and temperature were statistically significant with P values of less than 0.05.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002589:Cestoda / Q000254:growth & development*; D007814:Larva; D009928:Organ Specificity; D012911:Snakes / Q000469:parasitology*; D013696:Temperature