Comp. Parasitol. 85(2), 2018, pp. 189–192 Research Note A Record of an Asian House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, from Laos as a Host of the Pentastome, Kiricephalus pattoni, with Comments on the Distribution and Natural History of This Parasite GERRUT NORVAL, 1,6,7 DANIEL J ABLONSKI, 2 J ANA CHRISTOPHORYOVÁ, 2 VINH QUANG LUU, 3 STEPHEN R. GOLDBERG, 4 AND CHARLES R. BURSEY 5 1 Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit, Department of Environmental Sciences, UNISA, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, Republic of South Africa (e-mail: gnorval@gmail.com), 2 Comenius University in Bratislava, Department of Zoology, Mlynská dolina, Ilkoviˇ cova, 6 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia (daniel.jablonski@balcanica.cz; christophoryova@gmail.com), 3 Vietnam National University of Forestry, Department of Wildlife, Xuan Mai, Chuong My, Hanoi, Vietnam (qvinhfuv@yahoo.com.au), 4 Department of Biology, Whittier College, Whittier, California 90608, U.S.A. (e-mail: sgoldberg@whittier.edu), and 5 Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, Shenango Campus, Sharon, Pennsylvania 16146, U.S.A. (e-mail: cxb13@psu.edu), and 6 Current address: College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University of South Australia, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia (e-mail: norv0003@flinders.edu.au) ABSTRACT: An Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frena- tus Schlegel, 1836) was collected in a forested area near the town of Thakhek, Laos. Inspection of the lizard revealed that it had a subcutaneous lump on its abdomen, which was de- termined to be caused by a nymph of the pentastome Kiri- cephalus pattoni (Stephens, 1908). Although H. frenatus has been recorded as a host of K. pattoni in Taiwan, Thakhek, Laos represents a new distribution record for this parasite. KEY WORDS: Gekkonidae, Indochina, Maxillopoda, new distribution record, Pentastomida, Porocephalidae. Pentastomes, also known as tongue worms, are en- doparasitic crustaceans belonging to the class Max- illopoda and subclass Pentastomida (Riley et al., 1978; Abele et al., 1989; Martin and Davis, 2001). They are hematophagous, pulmonary, or nasopharyn- geal parasites, and as adults primarily infect amphib- ians, crocodilians, lizards, and snakes in tropical and semitropical regions (Byford and Maurice, 2007; Paré, 2008). A few species infect some chelonians, sea birds, canines, felines, ungulates, or the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps), and may even infect humans (Anonymous, 1922; Paré, 2008). The Asian house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus Schlegel, 1836, is generally accepted to be native to Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, but through an- thropogenic activities has spread to various localities throughout the tropics (Case et al., 1994; Rödder et al., 2008; Hoskin, 2011). Throughout its range (native and introduced) H. frenatus is often associated with ar- 7 Corresponding author. eas disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Herein we report on an instance of an adult H. frenatus from Laos being infected by a nymph of the pentastome Kiricephalus pattoni (Stephens, 1908) and summarize what is known about the natural history of this parasite. On 26 November 2016, an adult female H. frenatus was collected by hand in a forested area near the town of Thakhek, Laos (17°26 ′ 20.4 ′′ N; 104°51 ′ 39.6 ′′ E; da- tum: WGS84). The lizard had a snout–vent length and tail length of 70 mm and 25 mm, respectively. A closer inspection of the lizard revealed that it had a subcuta- neous lump on its abdomen (Fig. 1), caused by a par- asite. A small superficial incision was made through the epidermis and the parasite was removed (Fig. 2) with a pair of forceps. The lizard was subsequently re- leased and did not suffer any apparent damage. The parasite was preserved in 70% ethanol and sent to the Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State Uni- versity to determine the species. On the basis of the morphology of the cephalothorax (enlarged), hook ar- rangement (in a straight line), position and shape of the mouth (pear-shaped and positioned between the inner hooks), and the collection locality, the parasite was determined to be a nymph of K. pattoni (Riley and Self, 1980; Christoffersen and De Assis, 2013) and was subsequently deposited in the Harold W. Manter Museum, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, U.S.A. (voucher number HWML 99821). Kiricephalus pattoni has been recorded from parts of Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast and East Asia, and Australia (Riley and Self, 1980; Christof- fersen and De Assis, 2013), but Laos appears to be 189