Oswaldofilaria chabaudin. sp. (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) from a South American tropidurid lizard (Squamata: Iguania) with an update on Oswaldofilariinae

Abstract

Summary:A new species of Oswaldofilaria is described from Tropidurus torquatus (Tropiduridae: Iguania); its prevalence at the rocky study area at Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, was approximately 30 % and its mean intensity 3.13 ± 2.51. Oswaldofilaria chabaudi n. sp. is distinct from the thirteen Oswaldofilaria species known in Australia, Africa and South-America in having the following characteristics: oesophagus medium-sized, left spicule 1 mm long and high spicular ratio (about 5), tail extremity ornated in both sexes with a bifurcated projection, and tooth-like structures near phasmids in the female. A long left spicule and high spicular ratio are convergent derived characters also found in a parasite of Australian crocodilians, O. kanbaya, and in several species of the closely related genus Befilaria, such as the Central American B. puertoricensis from polychrotids. Oswaldofilaria in South America is represented by eight species. Within these, a primitive group that is parasitic in Iguanidae, Polychrotidae (Iguania) and Crocodylidae and that possesses a long oesophagus is recognised, together with two distinct derived lines: three species with numerous, aligned precloacal papillae, parasitic in Teiidae (Laterata) and Scincidae (Scincomorpha), and O. chabaudi n. sp., in which this character is absent. Tropidurids (Tropiduris and Plica) had previously been reported in the host range of two oswaldofilarine genera, Oswaldofilaria and Piratuba, and their parasites assigned to known species described from other groups of lizards.

Gastrointestinal nematodes of the lizardTropidurus hispidus(Squamata: Tropiduridae) from a semi-arid region of north-eastern Brazil

“…The richness of the helminth fauna of lizards in the genus Tropidurus (tables 2 and 3) ranges from three species in T. melanopleurus (Roca, 1997) and T. semitaeniatus (Almeida et al , 2009; Ávila et al , 2012) to 21 species in T. torquatus (Travassos, 1919, 1926; Travassos et al , 1969; Kohn et al , 1973; Cristofaro et al , 1976; Vicente, 1978, 1981; Vicente et al , 1993; Ribas et al , 1998; Vrcibradic et al , 2000; Lamas & Zaracho, 2006; Pereira et al , 2010, 2012). The two tropidurid species T. torquatus and T. hispidus , which are the most widely distributed, present the richer helminth fauna.…”

Shaking the Tree: Multi-locus Sequence Typing Usurps Current Onchocercid (Filarial Nematode) Phylogeny

“…Sixty-two specimens comprising 48 species belonging to 25 genera and representing seven of eight onchocercid subfamilies were analysed ( Table 1 and S1 Table ) [ 8 , 9 , 26 – 59 ]. Due to a lack of material, the Lemdaninae could not be included in this study.…”

Co-occurrence of Eutrombicula alfreddugesi and Oswaldofilaria chabaudi in Tropidurus torquatus and first report of microfilariae in the chigger mite: possible evidence of a lifecycle pathway?

“…The nematodes were identified based on the diagnostic features reported by Pereira et al . (2010); the lizard and the sampling locality of this study are also the type host and locality of O . chabaudi , respectively.…”

“…The lizards were subsequently euthanized with sodium pentobarbital and analysed for the presence of O . chabaudi (see Pereira et al ., 2010 for methodological details). Mite and nematode specimens were cleared and mounted in lactophenol, studied using a light microscope and identified using the taxonomic literature (Wharton & Fuller, 1952; Brennan & Goff, 1977; Anderson et al ., 2009; Pereira et al ., 2010).…”

“…The onchocercid genus Oswaldofilaria currently includes 15 species parasitic in lizards and crocodiles (Pereira et al ., 2010; Bursey et al ., 2015). The life cycles of five species have been investigated experimentally, suggesting that the principal vectors are culicid mosquitoes (Diptera: Cullicidae) (Makerras, 1953; Prod'hon & Bain, 1972; Bain & Chabaud, 1975).…”