First study on the helminth community structure of the neotropical marsupial Metachirus myosuros (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)

Autor: Bruna Silva Cirino, Sócrates Fraga da Costa Neto, Arnaldo Maldonado Júnior, Rosana Gentile
Jazyk: English<br />Spanish; Castilian<br />Portuguese
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, Vol 29, Iss 3 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1984-2961
DOI: 10.1590/s1984-29612020064
Popis: Abstract Metachirus myosuros is a marsupial species widely distributed in South America. Despite this, there is a lack of knowledge about its helminth parasites and helminth community structure. The aims of this study were to describe the species composition and determine the parasitological parameters of helminth communities of M. myosuros in preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest, Igrapiúna, Bahia state, northeastern Brazil. Parasites were searched from 19 specimens of this marsupial (18 were infected with at least one species), counted and identified. Ten species of helminth parasites were obtained: 7 nematodes, 2 platyhelminths and 1 acanthocephalan. The most abundant species were Aspidodera raillieti, Cruzia tentaculata, Physaloptera mirandai and Viannaia conspicua (Nematoda). These species were also the only dominant ones in the component community. Male hosts had higher prevalence of P. mirandai and greater abundance of V. conspicua. We observed a relationship between host body size and helminth abundance in both male and female hosts, and between host body size and helminth species richness in female hosts. This was the first study to analyze the helminth fauna and helminth community structure of M. myosuros. This was the first report of occurrences of A. raillieti and Didelphonema longispiculata in M. myosuros.
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