Lung infection rates in two sympatric Tropiduridae lizard species by pentastomids and nematodes in northeastern Brazil

Abstract

We present data on pulmonary infection rates by parasites in the lizards Tropidurus hispidus Spix, 1825 and T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825) living sympatrically in the Chapada do Araripe mountain Range, northeastern Brazil. We found no parasite pulmonary infection in T. semitaeniatus. However, two pulmonary parasite species were found in the T. hispidus hosts, the pentastomid Raillietiella mottae Almeida, Freire and Lopes, 2008 and the nematode Rhabdias sp. Overall prevalence was 5%. Prevalence of R. mottae was 2.5% and corresponded to only one parasite on each infected host. Prevalence of Rhabdias sp. was 2.5% and the range of infection was 1-2 parasites per host. This represents the first record of Rhabdias infecting lizards of the family Tropiduridae in the Neotropical region. Furthermore, we present a comparison of parameters of infection by pulmonary parasites including some recent studies in Brazil.Keywords: Raillietiella, Rhabdias, Pentastomida, neotropical region. Taxas de infecção pulmonar em duas espécies simpátricas de lagartos Tropiduridae por pentastomídeos e nematódeos na região Nordeste do Brasil ResumoApresentamos dados sobre taxas de infecção pulmonar por parasitas nos lagartos Tropidurus hispidus e T. semitaeniatus que vivem simpatricamente na encosta da Chapada do Araripe, situada na região Nordeste do Brasil. Não encontramos infecção parasitária nos pulmões dos espécimes de T. semitaeniatus. Entretanto, foram encontradas duas espécies de parasitas nos hospedeiros T. hispidus, os pentastomídeos Raillietiella mottae e os nematódeos Rhabdias sp. A prevalência geral de infecção foi de 5%. A prevalência de infecção de R. mottae foi de 2,5% correspondendo a apenas um parasita por hospedeiro. A prevalência de infecção de Rhabdias sp. foi de 2,5% e a amplitude de infecção de 1-2 parasitas por hospedeiros. Esses resultados compreendem o primeiro registro de Rhabdias infectando lagartos da família Tropiduridae em toda a região Neotropical. Apresentamos também uma comparação com os parâmetros de infecção pulmonar por parasitas incluindo os estudos mais recentes no Brasil.Palavras-chave: Raillietiella, Rhabdias, Pentastomida, região neotropical.

Pulmonary infection in two sympatric lizards, Mabuya arajara (Scincidae) and Anolis brasiliensis (Polychrotidae) from a cloud forest in Chapada do Araripe, Ceará, Northeastern Brazil

“…This parasite has been reported for a several species of lizard hosts, such as Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825), T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825), Phyllopezus periosus Rodrigues, 1986, P. pollicaris (Spix, 1825), Micrablepharus maximiliani (Reinhardt and Luetken, 1862) and Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau of Jonnès, 1818) (Almeida et al, 2009b). At the Chapada do Araripe, R. mottae was recorded at hosts from an anthropogenic area (Almeida et al, 2009b) and from an undisturbed area (present study).…”

“…This parasite has been reported for a several species of lizard hosts, such as Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825), T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825), Phyllopezus periosus Rodrigues, 1986, P. pollicaris (Spix, 1825), Micrablepharus maximiliani (Reinhardt and Luetken, 1862) and Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau of Jonnès, 1818) (Almeida et al, 2009b). At the Chapada do Araripe, R. mottae was recorded at hosts from an anthropogenic area (Almeida et al, 2009b) and from an undisturbed area (present study). According to Poulin (2007), the evolution of parasite life-history strategies and the strategies of host exploitation promote a trade-off between a strategy of specialization on host species (generally with high prevalence) or a strategy of parasitized several host species (generally with low prevalence).…”

“…Indeed, M. arajara showed the lower prevalence recorded for raillietiellids in Brazil (prevalence 1.6%), suggesting that this is not a common host of R. mottae (Almeida et al, 2009b).…”

“…Here we showed that A. brasiliensis is a new host for the genus Rhabdias. An unidentified species of Rhabdias was recorded infecting the tropidurid T. hispidus with low prevalence (2.5%) at open areas on the slope of the Chapada do Araripe (Almeida et al, 2009b). The population of A. brasiliensis showed a higher prevalence.…”

“…are commonly reported in infecting lizards, especially the genus Anolis (Torres-Ortiz, 1980; Bundy et al, 1987;Dobson et al, 1992;Bursey et al, 2003Bursey et al, , 2005Goldberg et al, 2006a, b;Vrcibradic et al, 2007Vrcibradic et al, , 2008Almeida et al, 2009b;Ávila et al, 2011). Here we showed that A. brasiliensis is a new host for the genus Rhabdias.…”