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26 August 2021 Helminth Fauna of Thecadactylus rapicauda (Houttuyn, 1782) (Squamata, Phyllodactylidae) in the Caxiuanã National Forest, from the Brazilian Eastern Amazon
Geovania Figueiredo da Silva, Gisele do Lago Santana, Heriberto Figueira Silva-Filho, Jeannie Nascimento dos Santos, Francisco Tiago de Vasconcelos Melo, Gleomar Fabiano Maschio
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Abstract

The Amazon region is an important region for biodiversity, and many new species are described for this region each year. However, the diversity of parasites infecting Amazonian reptiles is still poorly known, and there are few studies about how parasite communities of these hosts are structured. Our study was designed to elucidate the parasite community structure of Thecadactylus rapicauda, one of the largest species of gekkonid lizards in the world, and to discover the relative utility of size, sex, and body mass of Thecadactylus rapicauda as predictive factors of the abundance of helminth parasites. We analyzed 40 individuals of T. rapicauda, of which 34 had parasites (85% of prevalence), with 269 specimens allocated to 10 species. Body size of the host showed a positive influence on the abundance of helminths. Host sex is another important factor related to the abundance of nematodes: females were usually heavily infected. We conclude that T. rapicauda has a high richness of the helminth species and that most of the species found infecting this host were nematodes with a direct life cycle. Additionally, we found new helminth species, which should be described formally in the future.

© American Society of Parasitologists 2021
Geovania Figueiredo da Silva, Gisele do Lago Santana, Heriberto Figueira Silva-Filho, Jeannie Nascimento dos Santos, Francisco Tiago de Vasconcelos Melo, and Gleomar Fabiano Maschio "Helminth Fauna of Thecadactylus rapicauda (Houttuyn, 1782) (Squamata, Phyllodactylidae) in the Caxiuanã National Forest, from the Brazilian Eastern Amazon," Journal of Parasitology 107(4), 660-667, (26 August 2021). https://doi.org/10.1645/21-6
Published: 26 August 2021
KEYWORDS
Helminth diversity
host–parasite relationship
parasite abundance
parasitism
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