Helminth communities of pademelons, Thylogale stigmatica and T-thetis fromeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea

Gastrointestinal helminths were collected from pademelons of the genus Thyl ogale (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) in eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea . Examined were 12 Thylogale stigmatica stigmatica and 13 T. s. wilcoxi, th e latter subdivided into eight specimens from the northern limit of their d istribution and five from southern areas, all from eastern Queensland, Aust ralia, one T. s. oriomo from Papua New Guinea and ten T. thetis from southe astern Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. Six species of c estodes and 40 species of nematodes were found. The helminth community of T . s. stigmatica was similar to that found in northern specimens of T. s. wi lcoxi, while differences from the helminth community present in southern T. s. wilcoxi could be accounted for by parasites acquired from sympatric T. thetis. Thylogale thetis harboured a community of helminths distinct from b ut related to that in T. stigmatica. The evidence suggests that all subspec ies of T. stigmatica examined share a common helminth community, but that i n areas of sympatry, T. stigmatica and T. thetis share some of their parasi tes.