Parasitic nematodes of reptiles (lizards and snakes) in the Monte Desert of Argentina

  • Gabriel Natalio Castillo Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Av. Ignacio de la Roza 590, 5402, San Juan, Argentina https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1519-9457
  • Juan Carlos Acosta Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Juan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3539-8568
  • Cynthia Jessica Gonzalez-Rivas Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Juan
  • Geraldine Ramallo Instituto de Invertebrados. Fundación Miguel Lillo, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6953-4743
Keywords: parasitic nematodes, Parapharyngodon riojensis, Physaloptera retusa, Liolaemus, Aurivela, Philodryas, lizard, snake

Abstract

Nematodes are little known in the Argentine herpetofauna. In order to increase and contribute to the knowledge of parasitism in reptiles, we studied nematodes found in three species of lizards (Aurivela longicauda, Liolaemus darwinii, and Liolaemus riojanus) and one species of snake (Philodryas trilineata) from the Monte desert of center-west Argentina. We registered generalist nematodes common of the herpetofauna that belonged to two taxa: Physaloptera sp. (Physalopteridae) (larvae and adults specimens) and Parapharyngodon riojensis (Pharyngodonidae) (adults specimens). Liolaemus darwinii had low prevalence of nematodes (30%) and a mean intensity of 1.3±0.4 (1-2). The lizard A. longicauda had higher parasitic diversity with medium prevalence (50 and 12.5%) and mean intensities of 1.3±0.4 (1-2) corresponding to adult stages of Physaloptera sp. and Parapharyngodon riojensis. Due to the low number of studied specimens, precise conclusions cannot be drawn for Liolaemus riojanus and P. trilineata. The four reptile species correspond to new host records from Argentina, and the information provided contributes to the knowledge of endoparasitism in reptiles of the Argentine Monte region.

Published
2020-11-13
How to Cite
Natalio CastilloG., AcostaJ. C., Gonzalez-RivasC. J., & RamalloG. (2020). Parasitic nematodes of reptiles (lizards and snakes) in the Monte Desert of Argentina. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 66(4), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.17109/AZH.66.4.319.2020