Raillietiella teagueselfi n. sp. (Pentastomida: Cephalobaenida) from the Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus (Sauria: Gekkonidae), in Texas

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Abstract
Raillietiella teagueselfi n. sp. is described from the lungs of the Mediterranean gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. This new pentastomid is most closely related to Raillietiella affinis Bovien, 1927, of Asiatic Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) in Indonesia, but mature males differ in possessing rounded posterior hooks with swollen, blunt-tipped barbs, instead of relatively sharp-tipped hooks. In addition, the annulus number of females can readily differentiate the new species from 6 of the 10 blunt-tipped species (Raillietiella gehyrae Bovien, 1927; Raillietiella hemidactyli Hett, 1934; Railletiella maculatus Rao and Hiregauder, 1959; Raillietiella monarchus Ali et al., 1984; Raillietiella mabuiae (Heymons, 1922); and Raillietiella scincoides Ali et al., 1984). Two of the remaining 3 species of blunt-tipped raillietiellids (Raillietiella frenatus Ali et al., 1981 and Raillietiella maculibris Ali et al., 1984) are differentiated from female Raillietiella teagueselfi by having larger hook dimensions. The new species can be distinguished from Raillietiella freitasi (Motta and Gomes, 1968) by having a hooked spicule. Observations on the prevalence and intensity of infections are presented.