Nematode parasites of marsupials and small rodents from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Nematodes from opossums and rodents captured in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were studied. From the opossums Didelphis aurita Weid-Neuweid, 1826 and Philander opossum (Linnaeus, 1758) the following nematode species were recovered: Viannaia hamata Travassos, 1914, Aspidodera raillieti Travassos, 1913, Cruzia tentaculata (Rudolphi, 1819), Travassos, 1917, Turgida turgida (Rudolphi, 1819) Travassos, 1919, Gongylonemoides marsupialis (Vaz & Pereira, 1934) Freitas & Lent, 1937, Viannaia viannai Travassos, 1914, Spirura guianensis (Ortlepp, 1924) Chitwood, 1938 and from the rodents Akodon cursor (Winger, 1887), Nectomys squamipes (Brants, 1827), Oligoryzomys eliurus (Wagner, 1845) and Oryzomys intermedius (Leche, 1886): Hassalstrongylus epsilon (Travassos, 1937) Durette-Desset, 1971, Syphacia obvelata (Rudolphi, 1802) Seurat, 1916, S. venteli Travassos, 1937, Physaloptera bispiculata Vaz & Pereira, 1935, Litomosoides carinii (Travassos, 1919) Vaz, 1934, Viannaia viannai, Hassalstrongylus epsilon, H. zeta (Travassos, 1937) Durette-Desset, 1971, Stilestrongylus aculeata (Travassos, 1918) Durette-Desset, 1971 S. eta (Travassos, 1937) Durette-Desset, 1971. Highest worm burdens and prevalences were those related to Cruzia tentaculata in marsupials. Stilestrongylus aculeata was referred for the first time in Akodon cursor

First report of Trichinella spiralis from the white-eared (Didelphis albiventris) and the thick-tailed opossum (Lutreolina crassicaudata) in central Argentina

“…The recent description of the new species T. patagoniensis isolated from the puma in the Argentine Patagonia (Krivokapich et al, 2012) makes it necessary to find out which wild animals are infected by each of these two Trichinella species as well as which are the areas of influence of the two parasites. Marsupials are found in many different environments, from forests to domestic and peridomestic habitats like orchards, henhouses and poultry farms (Cabrera & Yepes, 1960;Hunsaker II, 1977;Contreras, 1983;Gómez Villa-HELMINTHOLOGIA, 51, 3: 198 -202, 2014 First report of Trichinella spiralis from the white-eared (Didelphis albiventris) and the thick-tailed opossum (Lutreolina crassicaudata) in central Argentina (Potkay, 1977;Schweigmann et al, 1999;Gomes et al, 2003;Bodini Santiago et al, 2007;Pérez Carusi et al, 2009), some marsupials are considered a link between wild and domestic habitats for the transmission of zoonotic diseases (Gómez Villafañe et al, 2004;Pérez Carusi et al, 2009). In environments related to the human population, opossums of the genus Didelphis are associated with garbage produced by humans, indicating the close relation between these animals and humans (Pérez Carusi et al, 2009).…”

Turgida turgida (Nematoda: Physalopteridae) parasitic in white-bellied opossum, Didelphis albiventris (Marsupialia: Didelphidae), state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

“…Intensive parasitism of T. turgida in D. marsupialis has been associated to chronic cachexia and anemia (Nettles et al 1975). A large number of studies have been carried out in North and South America on gastric and intestinal helminthes in the species from genus Didelphis, mainly in D. aurita and D. virginiana, reporting the presence of T. turgida based on light microscopy observations (Travassos 1920, Gray & Anderson 1982, Alden 1995, Vicente et al 1997, Silva & Costa 1999, Gomes et al 2003, Richardson & Campo 2005, Nichelason et al 2008. However, according to Matey et al (2001), the features that differentiate Turgida turgida from other physalopterid species are the presence of structures associated with the tripartite teeth, as papilla like structures, groove and pores, the crescent fold on the inner side of the lips, and the presence of the 22nd broad truncated caudal papilla on the male tail, observed using scanning electron microscopy.…”

Four Events of Host Switching in Aspidoderidae (Nematoda) Involve Convergent Lineages of Mammals

“…The hosts used by A. raillieti comprise didelphids (opossums) and sigmodontine rodents (water rats, long-nosed rats, among others), whereas N. rodentiphilus and N. scapteromi have been recorded only in sigmodontine rodents (Sutton et al, 1980;Gomes, 1984;Santos et al, 1990;Jim´enez-Ruiz and Gardner, 2003;Chagas-Moutinho et al, 2007;Navone et al, 2009). The ancestor for species of Nematomystes is reconstructed as a sigmodontine rodent, whereas the ancestor for A. raillieti þ Nematomystes is reconstructed as a didelphid marsupial.…”

“…comm.). Finally, A. raillieti commonly reaches 70% prevalence in marsupials (Gomes et al, 2003;Jim´enez-Ruiz et al, 2011), yet it occurs in low prevalence and abundance in sympatric sigmodontine rodents, including Nectomys squamipes (Pinto et al, 1982;Vicente et al, 1982;Gomes, 1984) and Euryoryzomys nitidus (unpubl. data).…”