Endoparasites of three species of house geckoes in Lampung, Indonesia

Abstract

Thirty-four house geckoes (21 Cosymbotus platyurus, four Gehyra mutilata and nine Hemidactylus frenatus) in December, 1997 (rainy season) and 26 geckos (16 C. platyurus, six G. mutilata and four H. frenatus) in July, 2000 (dry season) were captured in Lampung, Indonesia. Some species of geckoes have been inadvertently introduced to many tropical regions from their native region, but the three species of geckoes in this study are native to Indonesia. Six species of endoparasites were recovered: Oochoristica javanensis (Cestoda) from the small intestine, Paradistomum geckonum (Digenea) from the small intestine and gallbladder, Postorchigenes ovatus (Digenea) from the small intestine, Spauligodon hemidactylus (Nematoda) from the large intestine, and Raillietiella gehyra and R. frenatus (Pentastomida) from the lungs. The prevalence and mean intensity of infection in each species of geckoes are also presented. The prevalence of S. hemidactylus from C. platyurus and H. frenatus in the rainy season was significantly higher than in the dry season. The low prevalence of S. hemidactylus in G. mutilata in the present study corresponded to a previous report from a non-native area. According to the original description, the male of S. hemidactylus lacked a spicule, but in the present study, one male was found with a spicule. The present study suggests male dimorphism occurs in Spauligodon. The number of endoparasite species and snout vent length of geckoes were positively correlated. Geckoes with high worm burdens may be more easily captured by predators.

Size and sex matter: infection dynamics of an invading parasite (the pentastome Raillietiella frenatus) in an invading host (the cane toad Rhinella marina)

“…If we assume that pentastomes have a similar pre-patent period in toads as they do in their usual gecko host (>240 days), the high prevalence in the build-up implies that peak transmission occurs from mid-wet season to mid-build-down (Jan–Apr). The prevalence and intensity of R. frenatus in 3 lizard species ( Cosymbotus platyurus , Gehyra mutilata and H. frenatus ) from Indonesia (Matsuo and Oku, 2002) show comparable mean values to our own data, but do not reveal any seasonal variation. However, the Indonesian data are difficult to interpret because they are based on a single wet season and a single dry season sampled 3 years apart.…”

Pentastomids infecting an invader lizard, Hemidactylus mabouia (Gekkonidae) in northeastern Brazil

“…The overall prevalence (45.9%) of pentastomids infecting the studied population of H. mabouia was markedly lower than those reported for H. mabouia from Puerto Rico (89%; Simonsen and Sarda, 1985) and for H. haitianus from the Caribbean Hispaniola Island (62%; Powell et al, 1993), but they were higher than H. turcicus from the United States (19.8%; Riley et al, 1988) and H. frenatus from Indonesia (25-33%; Matsuo and Oku, 2002). In Brazil, the studies have shown unequal prevalence in native lizards species Mabuya agilis (3.6-9.0%; Vrcibradic et al, 2002); Cnemidophorus abaetensis (6.0%; Dias et al, 2005), and C. ocellifer (2.5%; Dias et al, 2005); and Tropidurus hispidus (11.1%; Almeida et al, 2008).…”

Helminth parasites of the African lizard Agama agama (Squamata: Agamidae), in Lagos, Nigeria

“…Eggs of S. brevicaudata are thick-shelled, containing embryos at deposition (Yamaguti 1961). in one study, the prevalence of a nematode, Spauligodon hemidactylus was significantly higher in the rainy season than in the dry season (Matsuo and Oku 2002). There were no monthly differences in the prevalence or intensity of infection in adults examined by Amo et al (2005).…”