Abstract:A comprehensive and up to date summary of the literature on the helminth parasites of lizards and amphisbaenians from South America is herein presented. One-hundred eighteen lizard species from twelve countries were reported in the literature harboring a total of 155 helminth species, being none acanthocephalans, 15 cestodes, 20 trematodes and 111 nematodes. Of these, one record was from Chile and French Guiana, three from Colombia, three from Uruguay, eight from Bolivia, nine from Surinam, 13 from Paraguay, 12 from Venezuela, 27 from Ecuador, 17 from Argentina, 39 from Peru and 103 from Brazil. The present list provides host, geographical distribution (with the respective biome, when possible), site of infection and references from the parasites. A systematic parasite-host list is also provided.

Amphibians are probably the most vulnerable group to climate change and climate-change associate diseases. This ongoing biodiversity crisis makes it thus imperative to improve the taxonomy of anurans in biodiverse but understudied areas such as Amazonia. In this study, we applied robust integrative taxonomic methods combining genetic (mitochondrial 16S, 12S and COI genes), morphological and environmental data to delimit species of the genus Amazophrynella (Anura: Bufonidae) sampled from throughout their pan-Amazonian distribution. Our study confirms the hypothesis that the species diversity of the genus is grossly underestimated. Our analyses suggest the existence of eighteen linages of which seven are nominal species, three Deep Conspecific Lineages, one Unconfirmed Candidate Species, three Uncategorized Lineages, and four Confirmed Candidate Species and described herein. We also propose a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus and discuss its implications for historical biogeography of this Amazonian group.

Lungworms from the genus Rhabdias are common parasites of amphibians and reptiles distributed worldwide. To assess the diversity of Rhabdias spp., we performed molecular analyses of 35 specimens sampled in different regions of Brazil. Molecular analyses were based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit (28S) ribosomal and the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial genes. DNA sequence divergence was compared among ribosomal and mitochondrial genes, analyses using the general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) method based on the COI gene were used to identify possible cryptic diversity, and phylogenetic analyses using concatenated ITS and 28S ribosomal genes were used to test the monophyly of Rhabdiasidae.We revealed five morphospecies: R. cf. stenocephala, R. breviensis, R. pseudosphaerocephala and two new species, Rhabdias sp.4 and Rhabdias sp.5. DNA sequence levels of divergence among genes ITS, 28S and COI were compared, and the efficiency of the molecular markers to identify species (ITS and COI) and lineages (COI) was tested. GMYC was assigned to 17 well-supported clades (i.e., 17 species), and cryptic diversity was detected in the Neotropical region as evidenced by the multiple lineages in R. breviensis and R. pseudosphaerocephala. In addition, our results suggest evidence for host-parasite cophylogeny in the R. pseudosphaerocephala complex and dispersal events among their populations. Phylogenetic analyses supported the monophyly of Rhabdiasidae and improved the resolution of main clades. Rhabdias breviensis is closely related to Rhabdias cf. africanus, Rhabdias cf. stenocephala, R. pseudosphaerocephala, Rhabdias sp.4 and Rhabdias sp.5 grouping together in a main clade with Neotropical-related species. The large geographical distribution appeared to be a phylogenetic pattern among the species of Rhabdias from the neotropics. 596 | MÜLLER Et aL.

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The Serra do Urubu mountain range is considered a key biodiversity area. It is situated in the

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This study reports helminth infection patterns of the lizard Tropidurus hispidus from an area of semiarid caatinga in northeastern Brazil (Ceará state). The lizard population was parasitized by 8 helminth species, and the species composition of the component community resembles that found for other Neotropical lizards. The prevalence of parasites was higher for males compared with females, whereas no relation was found between intensity of infection of 2 parasites (Parapharyngodon alvarengai and Physaloptera lutzi) and the lizards body size. For reproductive females, parasite infection intensity was negatively correlated to reproductive investment.