Occurrence of Physaloptera praeputialis in a leopard rescued from Odisha, India
Sourabh Ranjan Hota, Niranjana Sahoo, Bijayendranath Mohanty, Debi Prasanna Das and Jasmine Pamia
An adult Indian male leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) aged 4 years was rescued near a Bungalow in Athmallik Wildlife Division, Odisha during December, 2016 with signs of paraplegia, multiple external skin injuries and contusion at lumbar vertebrae which succumbed 3days following treatment. Twenty-eight Physaloptera praeputialis were recovered from the stomach during post-mortem examination. The average length of females was 3.5 cm as against 2.8cm in males. Females showed a distinct brown ring around the vulva. Microscopic examination revealed presence of a cuticular sheath resembling a prepuce at the anterior end, two pseudolips over the head and cuticular sheath beyond the tail end of the body as additional characteristic features. The report reflects the first of its kind from the leopard.