Diversity of helminths parasitizing Phalacrocorax brasilianus (Gmelin, 1789) in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

This study was carried out in northern Brazil to determine the prevalence of helminth parasites that infect Phalacrocorax brasilianus (Gmelin, 1789). Between July 2020 and July 2023, adult and larvae parasites were collected from the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of 30 birds that died in fishing nets and in fishing corral in the municipality of Soure on Marajó Island. The identified parasites included the nematodes Contracaecum sp., Contracaecum australe, Contracaecum rudolphii sensu lato, Contracaecum microcephalum, Contracaecum multipapillatum, Syncuaria squamata, Desportesius invaginatus, Tetrameres sp., Aplectana sp., Cyathostoma sp., Eucoleus contortus, Baruscapillaria spiculata, Baruscapillaria appendiculata; the trematodes Drepanocephalus spathans, Austrodiplostomum mordax, Austrodiplostomum compactum, Hysteromorpha triloba; the cestodes Paradilepis caballeroi; and the acanthocephalans Andracantha sp., Southwellina hispida and Southwellina macracanthus. The whole prevalence was 96.66% (29/30) and the most frequent helminths were nematodes (96.66%; 29/30), followed by acanthocephalans (66.66%; 20/30). These data increase the knowledge about helminths in cormorants widely distributed to Marajó Island.