Helminth infracommunity of the cane toad Rhinella marina (Anura: Bufonidae) within its native distribution range.

During August 2010, a total of 66 cane toad Rhinella marina were collected in Laguna de Coyuca, Guerrero, Mexico and examined for the presence of helminths. Ninety-two percent were parasitized by 1 or more parasite species. A total of 4624 individuals were found, belonging to 8 helminth taxa (1 digenean, 1 cestode and 6 nematodes). Infracommunities harbored by this host species are highly variable (mean Jaccard similarity index 0.31±0.27); mean percent similarity index 0.26±0.32) and depauperate (mean richness 1.91±0.92; mean abundance 64.4±100.34); almost 50% of them were dominated by Rhabdias fuelleborni, a skin-penetrating nematode. Differences related to host gender and size were found, since males registered infracommunities with lower species richness and diversity than females. The reproductive condition of females (collected during the breeding season) might explain the results obtained; during this season, females invest less in resistance to infection in favor of investing resources in reproduction. However, confirmation of this statement can only be made by sampling in the dry season, when the toads do not reach their reproductive peak.

Foleyellides rhinellae sp. nov. (Nematoda, Onchocercidae) a new filaria parasitizing Rhinella marina (Anura, Bufonidae) in Mexico.

A new nematode species, Foleyellides rhinellae sp. nov. (Onchocercidae), is described from specimens found in the body cavity of the cane toad, Rhinella marina (Linnaeus) (Anura, Bufonidae), in the Laguna de Coyuca, Guerrero, in the Pacific slope of Mexico. The new species differs from the other nine species of Foleyellides by infecting bufonid anurans and by the number and arrangement of caudal papillae. Other distinguishing feature of the new species is the size of the left spicule (0.16-0.23 long), the smallest recorded among the species included in the genus. Foleyellides rhinellae sp. nov. is the second known species of the genus recorded from amphibians of Mexico.

A new species of nematode (Molineidae) from Rhinella marina (Amphibia: Bufonidae) in Guerrero, México.

Oswaldocruzia lamotheargumedoi n. sp., inhabiting the intestine of the cane toad, Rhinella marina (L.), in Laguna de Coyuca, Guerrero, México, is described here. The new species differs from 10 congeners infecting bufonid hosts because it has a type I bursa. In contrast, 7 of these species have type II bursa and 3 more a type III bursa. The species most similar to the species described herein is Oswaldocruzia pipiens Walton, 1929 . These 2 species share traits such as body size, bursa type, presence of cervical alae, and dorsal ray morphology. Nevertheless, both species can be distinguished based on the number of synlophe ridges at mid-body (54-56 for O. lamotheargumedoi vs. 45-48 for O. pipiens) and by the presence of a chitinous support in the long, and well developed, cervical alae of O. pipiens. In the new species, these structures are short, poorly developed, and lack chitinous support. Previous records of species of Oswaldocruzia in México include Oswaldocruzia subauricularis (Rudolphi, 1819) Travassos, 1917 in the Neotropical Realm and O. pipiens in the Nearctic.