Nematodes of Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from Caatinga Biome, Northeastern Brazil

Helminths Infection Patterns in a Lizard (Tropidurus hispidus) Population from a Semiarid Neotropical Area: Associations Between Female Reproductive Allocation and Parasite Loads

“…Nonetheless, specifically concerning lizard populations, helminth component communities are generally considered to be species poor (Aho, 1990). Studies addressing the helminth infection patterns of lizards from the semiarid caatinga biome from South America have shown an increase in the last few years (see Lopes et al, 2006;Anjos et al, 2011;Avila et al, 2012). Nonetheless, none of those studies investigated the interdependence of parasites and hosts' reproductive attributes.…”

“…Previous studies report that females of this species produce up to 14 eggs per clutch and that clutch size is related to the body size of the female (Prieto et al, 1976;Vitt and Goldberg, 1983). Avila and Silva (2010) pointed out that this species is parasitized by 6 nematode species, whereas Anjos et al (2013) found 4 helminth species infecting T. hispidus from Chapada do Araripe (Ceara´state, Brazil). Herein, we present data on helminth infection of the lizard T. hispidus.…”

“…For example, the physalopterid P. lutzi was found infecting lizards from the families Leiosauridae, Teiidae, and Tropiduridae (Ávila, 2009). The helminth S. oscari is known to be a common parasite of Tropidurus lizards (Ávila, 2009) and has also been found infecting many species of the families Leiosauridae, Teiidae Liolaemidae, Polychrotidae, and Scincidae (e.g., Avila, 2009;Ávila et al, 2011). Nonetheless, the recovery of H. boddaertii, P. alvarengai, and S. oxkutzcabiensis in our samples represents the first record of T. hispidus as a host for these parasites, with P. alvarengai constituting the first record for lizards of the genus Tropidurus.…”

Helminth parasites of Phyllodactylidae and Gekkonidae lizards in a Caatinga ecological station, northeastern Brazil

“…Helminths are parasites that infect the internal and external organs of most invertebrate and vertebrate groups (Fergunson 1942;Round 1968;Salgado-Maldonado et al 2005;Hamann et al 2006a, b;Ávila et al 2012). Among this wide diversification of hosts, there is a great diversity of parasites in South American lizards (Ávila & Silva 2010), and several studies have recorded variation in parasite richness and diversity (Bursey & Goldberg 2004;Bursey et al 2005;Anjos et al 2013;Brito et al 2014a, b;Galdino et al 2014;Sousa et al 2014).…”

“…Knowledge of the lizard-associated helminth fauna has increased through research concerning (i) records of new hosts (Bursey & Goldberg 2004;Bursey et al 2005;Ávila & Silva 2010;McAllister et al 2011;Ávila et al 2012), (ii) descriptions of new parasite species Pereira et al 2012), and (iii) influence of biotic and abiotic variables on helminth diversity and abundance (Sharpilo et al 2001;Brito et al 2014a, b;Galdino et al 2014).…”