Nematode Parasites from Six Species of Marsupial Gastrotheca (Anura: Hemiphractidae) Frogs from the Peruvian Andean Highlands

Gisella Gómez, Lidia Sánchez, Luis A. Ñacari, Juan F. Espínola-Novelo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

All rights reserved. Abstract: The present study examined the helminth fauna of marsupial frogs (Gastrotheca spp.). Forty-one individuals of six species of the genus Gastrotheca (G. excubitor, G. griswoldi, G. marsupiata, G. monticola, G. peruana, and G. stictopleura) from the Peruvian Andean highlands were analyzed for parasites. Eleven species of nematodes were found: Rhabdias cff. elegans, Oswaldocruzia proencai, Aplectana hylambatis, A. membranosa, A. vellardi, Cosmocerca brasiliensis, C. cruzi, C. parva, Cosmocercoides lilloi, Parapharyngodon sp., and Oxyascaris sp. All the recorded nematode species are generalists with a direct life cycle that can colonize hosts through cutaneous infection, often through contact with soil, suggesting that the terrestrial habitat of the hosts is the main factor responsible for the observed infection patterns. All these nematode species represent new parasite records for the host species studied.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)65-73
Number of pages9
JournalPacific Science
Volume74
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2020

Keywords

  • amphibians
  • Gastrotheca
  • helminth parasites
  • marsupial frogs
  • Peru
  • terrestrial habitat

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