Internal and external parasites of possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) from forest and farmland, Wanganui, New Zealand

The methodology and results of a parasite survey of 209 possums from Wanganui, western North Island, in the spring of 1994 are described. No somatic protozoan parasites were detected, but 23% of possums had coccidia, Eimeria sp. oocysts in their faeces. Prevalences of intestinal nematodes were: Parastrongyloides trichosuri (55%), Trichostrongylus spp. (59%), and Paraustrostrongylus trichosuri (2.4%). Only one animal was found infected with the cestode Bertiella trichosuri. It was demonstrated that prevalence of Parastrongyloides trichosuri was affected by age and habitat and Trichostrongylus spp. by habitat. Four species of external parasites were found: the mites Trichosurolaelaps crassipes (49%), Petrogalochirus dycei (65%), Atellana papilio (81%), and Murichirus anabiotus (32%). The parasite fauna of possums in New Zealand appears to be less diverse than that in their native Australia.