Prevalence and parasitemia of Haemogregarina sp. in Podocnemis expansa (Testudines: Podocnemididae) from the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Seventy-five turtles Podocnemis expansa in the Brazilian Amazon were examined for the presence of ectoparasites and hemoparasites. Samplings were performed in three study areas in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Twenty-five specimens were sampled per study area (a commercial breeding facility, an indigenous subsistence breeding facility and a wild population of the Javaés River). Hemoparasites of the genus Haemogregarina were found in 66% (50/75) of the turtle specimens, and the infections were restricted to the commercial breeding facility and to the wild population of the Javaés River. The mean level of parasitemia was 54/2,000 erythrocytes (2%). There was no correlation between the body condition index of the chelonians and the level of parasitemia, with no significant difference between genders. No leeches were observed during the physical exams in any of the study areas, but the specimens from the commercial breeding facility were in poor physical condition with shell deformities and the presence of a relatively high amount of skin ulcerations, most likely caused by fungi and bacteria. This was the first study to record the occurrence of hemogregarines on a population scale in P. expansa and helps to increase knowledge about hemoparasites in chelonians in Brazil.Keywords: Podocnemis expansa, prevalence, Haemogregarina, freshwater turtle. ResumoSetenta e cinco tartarugas Podocnemis expansa foram examinadas para a presença de ectoparasitos e hemoparasitos na região amazônica brasileira. As coletas foram realizadas no Estado do Tocantins, Brasil. No estudo foram amostrados 25 indivíduos por local, um criatório comercial, um criatório de subsistência indígena e uma população silvestre do rio Javaés. Foram encontrados hemoparasitos pertencentes ao gênero Haemogregarina em 66% (50/75) dos animais, sendo que as infecções foram restritas ao criatório comercial e a população silvestre do rio Javaés. A parasitemia média foi de 54/2.000 eritrócitos (2%). Não houve relação entre o índice de condição corporal dos quelônios e os níveis de parasitemia e nem diferença quanto ao sexo dos animais. Não foram observadas sanguessugas durante os exames físicos, porém os animais do criatório comercial apresentaram condições físicas ruins com deformidades no casco e presença de uma quantidade relativamente alta de ulcerações na pele, provavelmente causadas por fungos ou bactérias. Este estudo registrou a primeira ocorrência de hemogregarinas em uma escala populacional de P. expansa e contribui para expandir o conhecimento de hemoparasitos em quelônios no Brasil.Palavras-chaves: Podocnemis expansa, prevalência, Haemogregarina, tartaruga de água doce.

Concomitant infection of Haemogregarina sp. and Staphylococcus aureus in free-living yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis): case report.

“…The other type of gametocyte were robust, causing deformations in erythrocytes and displacement of cell nuclei, with nuclei of the parasite delimited; the body length, width, and area of the parasite were, respectively, 17.9 ± 1.3 µm, 5.4 ± 0.8 µm, and 39.1 ± 2.9 µm 2 and the nuclei length, width, and area of the parasite were, respectively, 8.25 ± 1.30 µm, 3.59 ± 0.8 µm, and 13.97 ± 1.42 µm 2 (Figure 1). The same morphologies of gametocytes were observed by Soares et al (2014) and Picelli et al (2015) from Brazilian P. unifilis and P. expansa turtles, respectively. The authors nominated the small gametocytes as microgametocytes and the robust gametocytes as macrogametocytes.…”

“…Haemogregarinidae) is common in aquatic turtles and has been documented in several countries (Telford, 2009) However in Brazil, there are only a few reports (Soares et al, 2014;Picelli et al, 2015;Úngari et al, 2018). A recent study from Úngari et al (2018) characterized through morphological, morphometric and molecular analyses, a new species Haemogregarina podocnemis in Podocnemis unifilis, being the first Haemogregarina species described in a Brazilian turtle.…”

Haemogregarine (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) infection in Vanderhaege's toad-headed turtle, Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei (Chelidae), from a Brazilian Neotropical savanna region

“…The prevalence recorded for Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei was relatively higher than that found in Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger) a chelonian of the same family (27.6%, n = 58), which was studied in an anthropised areas in the Cerrado (Campos-Brites and Rantin 2004). In two other studies in Brazil, haemogregarines were recorded in 66% (n = 75) of Podocnemis expansa (Schweigger) individuals (Picelli et al 2015) and 98% (n = 78) of Podocnemis unifilis Troschel individuals (Soares et al 2014), both of which are large species distributed throughout the Amazon region.…”

“…Variable levels of haemogregarine prevalence have been recorded in turtles in Brazil (Picelli et al 2015). The prevalence recorded for Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei was relatively higher than that found in Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger) a chelonian of the same family (27.6%, n = 58), which was studied in an anthropised areas in the Cerrado (Campos-Brites and Rantin 2004).…”

“…Two groups of hemoparasites have been recorded in these chelonians. The first group comprises haemogregarines of the genus Haemogregarina in Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger), Podocnemis unifilis Troschel, and Podocnemis expansa (Schweigger) (Campos- Brites and Rantin 2004, Soares et al 2014, Picelli et al 2015, Oliveira et al 2018, Úngari et al 2018. The second group consists of malarial parasites of the genus Haemoproteus Kruse, 1890, Haemoproteus peltocephali Lainson and Naiff, 1998 in Peltocephalus dumerilianus (Schweigger), Haemoproteus geochelonis (Lainson and Naiff, 1998) in Chelonoidis denticulatus (Linnaeus) and recently, Haemoproteus sp.…”