First report ofRhabdias(Nematoda: Rhabdiasoidea) from lungs of montane chameleons in Cameroon: description of two new species and notes on biology

Abstract

Summary :The lung nematodes of the genus Rhabdias parasitic in chameleons were previously only known from east Africa and Madagascar. Two new species are described from Cameroon: i) Rhabdias okuensis n. sp., type-host Chamaeleo (Trioceros) quadricornis gracilior, from Mont Oku, is frequent; it resembles R. jarki from Burundi, with a short buccal capsule and a long, thin oesophagus, and is distinguished by its large cervical vesicle and cephalic characters (mouth aperture, papillae). The female parasites are hermaphroditic (spermatozoa identified) and they pierce the lung wall and induce lesions, as R. jarki. In the same locality, another chameleon, C. (T.) w. wiedersheimi also harbours R. okuensis, as demonstrated with the 12S rDNA and coxI gene sequences. ii) R. cristati n. sp., type-host C. (T.) cristatus, from Mount Cameroon, is described from one heavily infected specimen; it resembles R. chamaeleonis from East Africa, and is distinguished by the large buccal capsule and the thick apex of the intestine. The free-living phase, studied in R. okuensis, presents characters of other Rhabdias from chameleons: heterogony, development of larvae through matricidal endotoky, infective larval stages with a thick, rounded caudal extremity, exuvium transformed into a thick cuticular sheeth. Each free-living female produces one larva, as in other African Rhabdias, whereas the female of R. gemellipara, a parasite of a Malagasy chameleon, produces two larvae. Résumé

Rhabdias(Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) from Chamaeleonidae (Sauria): two new species fromTrioceros elliotiin east Africa and one fromBrookesia superciliarisin Madagascar

“…none of the Rhabdias species previously described from chameleons present a cephalic dilatation that is based on an inflation of the vesicle only. a similar character has, however, been observed in congeners from anuran hosts, namely -Vallarino et al, 2008;2009a). in fact, the nucleotide interspecific distances (k2P) between R. brygooi and the three Rhabdias species previously mentioned are: 5.3 % (standard error 1.2 %) with R. mariauxi; 4.5 % (standard error 1.1 %) with R. okuensis; and 6.6 % ( standard error 1.3 %) with R. rhampholeonis.…”

“…morphological studies and measurements were performed as described in previous studies (Lhermitte-Vallarino & Bain, 2004;Lhermitte-Vallarino et al, 2008;2009a, b). Where necessary, two values are listed for buccal capsule length: length of anterior segment and, in brackets, total length including the posterior segment (Fig.…”

“…similar structures were also described by in another rhabdiasid genus, Pneumonema Johnston, 1916, which has no body vesicle but spines. Features more commonly associated with the vesicle are transverse furrows and, in some species, fibres of attachment to the internal cuticular layer; the latter were observed in R. okuensis from Trioceros in Cameroon and R. picardiae from a bufonid in south africa (Lhermitte-Vallarino et al, 2008;Junker et al, 2010). the role of the body vesicle is as yet undetermined; it is suggested that this complex apparatus allows the parasites to resist the variation in pressure caused by the rythmic contraction of the host's lungs.…”

Rhabdias mcguirei sp. nov. (Nematoda, Rhabdiasidae) from the flying lizard, Draco spilopterus (Squamata, Agamidae) of the northern Philippines

“…nov. by a larger buccal capsule (50-63 wide), presence of cuticular inflations at both the anterior part of the body and on the tip of the tail, absence of the velum around the oral opening and absence of segments in the buccal capsule (Lhermitte-Vallarino et al 2008).…”

“…Eighteen Rhabdias species parasitize lizards of the families Agamidae (2 species), Chameleonidae (13 species) and Polychrotidae (3 species) in tropical regions of Africa, Madagascar, SouthEast Asia and Central America (Kuzmin 2003;Bursey et al 2003Bursey et al , 2007Lhermitte-Vallarino and Bain 2004;Martínez-Salazar 2006;Lhermitte-Vallarino et al 2008, 2010. One species, Rhabdias lacertae Moravec, 2010, was described from a lacertid lizard from Europe (Moravec 2010).…”