ABSTRACT
METHODS: Sampling was performed at three sites in the Tapajós River mouth, Pará State, Brazil, and an aliquot of blood was collected from each turtle by post-occipital dorsal vein puncture. The aliquots were used for the determination of hematological parameters and for the study of hemoparasites in the blood samples. RESULTS: A total of 37 turtles were sampled: 21 Podocnemis expansa, three P. sextuberculata, nine P. unifilis, and four P. erythrocephala. Parasitological analyses showed inclusions in erythrocytes compatible with Haemogregarina sp., representing an overall prevalence of parasitized animals of 64.8% with an average of 94,789 parasites/ml of blood. In this study, the evolutionary forms of Haemogregarina spp. from trophozoites, pre-meronts, meronts, and mature and immature gamonts were observed in three species of freshwater turtle species, and one morphotype of the parasite with high similarity to Haemogregarina podocnemis has been observed. CONCLUSION: Despite recent research on freshwater turtles, this study provides new information on the intensity of blood parasite infection and hematological parameters of free-living animals, highlighting the need for studies on infected and uninfected animals from the same population.
Subject(s)
Turtles , Animals , Turtles/parasitology , Turtles/blood , Brazil/epidemiology , Fresh Water , Erythrocytes/parasitology , Rivers , PrevalenceABSTRACT
Acanthocephalans are grouped in a single phylum, having a cosmopolitan distribution and subdivided into several genera. Although species of this parasite genus have birds and mammals as definitive hosts, they have been reported in amphibians and reptiles, and have been noted as paratenic hosts. In this study we report the record of Rhinella major as a new paratenic host for the Centrorhynchus sp. from an urban area of the Brazilian Amazon. In this study, for the morphometric measurements to take place, the parasitic specimens found were fixed and preserved in an alcoholic liquid medium and the identification of the parasites found were confirmed by specialized literature. The parasitological statistical parameters followed the proposed ecological concepts, calculating the parasite prevalence, intensity, average intensity and average abundance indices with confidence intervals. In the present study, two morphotypes of Acontochephala were found parasitizing R. major. In this study we report the record of R. major as a new paratenic host for the Centrorhynchus sp.
Subject(s)
Acanthocephala , Anura , Animals , Brazil/epidemiology , Birds , Reptiles , MammalsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The present study aims to record the occurrence of a haemogregarine of the genus Dactylosoma in anurans in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. METHODS: Specimens of Leptodactylus macrosternum, Rhinella major, and Rhinella marina were collected in the municipality of Santarém, west of the State of Pará, in Brazil. Parasitic forms identified as Dactylosoma sp. were recorded by light microscopy, with magnification of 400 and 1000 X. RESULTS: Aspects about the morphology and morphometry of Dactylosoma sp. are presented. The mean intensity of infection was 200,000 parasites/mL in R. major and 50,000 parasites/mL in R. marina. CONCLUSION: The present study expands the occurrence of parasites of the genus Dactylosoma in Brazil, presenting a new anuran host for this parasite in the Brazilian Amazon region.
Subject(s)
Eucoccidiida , Parasites , Animals , Brazil , BufonidaeABSTRACT
Morphnus guianensis is a species belonging to the Accipitridae family classified as almost threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Trypanosomes are flagellated protozoa that carry out their life cycle in the circulatory system of vertebrate hosts and within the digestive tract of invertebrate hosts. This study recorded Trypanosoma sp. parasitizing M. guianensis in the Brazilian Amazon, providing data related to the morphology and morphometry of the trypomastigote forms of peripheral blood of this bird. The mean values of the measured morphological regions were used to compare morphometric similarity with morphotypes described for Trypanosoma sp. through the Bray-Curtis method and, after statistical analysis, the dendrogram was generated from the morphological similarities with a similarity greater than 95% with T. paddae described for different hosts in different geographical regions.
Subject(s)
Eagles , Trypanosoma , Trypanosomatina , Animals , Brazil , Phylogeny , Trypanosoma/geneticsABSTRACT
Clinostomid trematodes are only widely studied due to the ability to infect their metacercariae, which can affect amphibians, fish, snakes and occasionally mammals, with occasional records in humans. The Loricariids constitute the most diverse family of neotropical fish, with more than 800 registered species. They present a large heterogeneity of colors and body forms that reflect its high degree of ecological specialization and importance on economic aspects such as ornamentation and food. In spite of these factors, studies involving the diversity of parasitic fauna that affect in these fish is still scarce. In this aspect, our study presents the first record of occurrence of the parasite Clinostomum marginatum in association with the Loricariid Pterygoplichthys pardalis in the Amazon region of Brazil. In September 2018, in the river mouth of Tapajós river, tributary of Amazon river, 32 specimens of P. pardalis and six specimens of Aphanotorulus emarginatus were captured. The parasitological studies revealed the occurrence of metacercariae of C. marginatum in association with P. pardalis, representing a prevalence of 12.5% with a mean abundance of 0.18 and a medium intensity of infection of 1.5. No C. marginatum parasitism was observed in A. emarginatus.
