Tatra chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica (Blahout 1972)) and Tatra marmot (Marmota marmota latirostris (Kratochvíl 1961)) are significant endemic subspecies of the subalpine and alpine ranges of the Tatra Mountains in Central Europe. In four studied localities in the range of their typical biotopes in Slovakia and Poland, we investigated intestinal parasites of Tatra chamois and Tatra marmots, with an emphasis on anoplocephalid tapeworms. We also studied the occurrence, species diversity, and abundance of oribatid mites as intermediate hosts thereof, and the prevalence of cysticercoid larval stages of anoplocephalid tapeworms in collected oribatids using morphological and molecular methods. Coprological analyses revealed the average positivity of Moniezia spp. in chamois faeces at 23.5% and Ctenotaenia marmotae in marmot samples at 71.1%, with significant differences between the localities under study. Morphological analyses determined the presence of cysticercoids in five oribatid species: Ceratozetes gracilis, Edwardzetes edwardsi, Scheloribates laevigatus, Trichoribates novus, and Tectocepheus velatus sarekensis. This is the first record of T. v. sarekensis as an intermediate host of anoplocephalid tapeworms, as well as the first report of Andrya cuniculi occurrence in the territory of the Tatra Mountains, confirmed also by molecular methods.

Administration of Tatra National Park Tatranská Lomnica 66 059 60 Vysoké Tatry Slovakia

Department of Biology Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences University of Prešov 17 Novembra 1 080 01 Prešov Slovakia

Department of Craniofacial Surgery Faculty of Medicine Ostrava University Syllabova 19 703 00 Ostrava Czech Republic

Institute of Parasitology Slovak Academy of Sciences Hlinkova 3 040 01 Košice Slovakia

Life Science Research Centre Faculty of Science University of Ostrava Chittussiho 10 710 00 Ostrava Czech Republic

Tatra National Park Kuźnice 1 34 500 Zakopane Poland

University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice Komenského 73 041 81 Košice Slovakia

Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Universitetskaya 1 190034 St Petersburg Russia

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