Morphological and Molecular Identification of Physaloptera alata (Nematoda: Spirurida) in a Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) from Portugal

Physaloptera spp. are parasitic nematodes that infect the gastrointestinal tracts of many carnivores and omnivores. Although they are distributed worldwide, Physaloptera spp. have not been studied in raptors in Portugal. In this study, we report Physaloptera alata in a booted eagle (Aquila pennata) in Portugal. Adult nematodes were discovered in the gizzard of a young booted eagle, and morphological features were consistent with those of the genus Physaloptera. DNA was extracted and a PCR assay performed to amplify a region of the 18S small subunit of the ribosomal RNA gene and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. The resulting PCR products were Sanger-sequenced, and comparison with the available sequences in the GenBank database confirmed the initial morphological classification as Physaloptera sp. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the sequence within the Physaloptera group. The presence of this parasite in raptors from Portugal is of particular importance to wildlife rehabilitation centers, disease ecologists, and wildlife professionals. Furthermore, we produced a new genetic sequence and have added it to the GenBank database of parasites in birds of prey.