17
Clinostomum marginatum
in
Poecilia reticulata
Neotropical Helminthology, Vol. 19, Nº1, jan - jun 2025
Neotropical Helminthology
Neotropical Helminthology, 2025, vol. 19 (1), 17-21
ORIGINAL ARTICLE / ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL
HELMINTHS OF TWO SPECIES OF
BACHIA, B. DORBIGNYI
(DUMÉRIL
&BIBRON, 1839) AND
B. BRESSLAUI
(AMARAL, 1935) (SAURIA: REPTILIA)
HELMINTOS DE DUASESPÉCIES DE
BACHIA, B. DORBIGNYI
(DUMÉRIL
& BIBRON, 1839) E
B. BRESSLAUI
(AMARAL, 1935) (SAURIA: REPTILIA)
HELMINTOS DE DOS ESPECIES DE
BACHIA, B. DORBIGNYI
(DUMÉRIL
& BIBRON, 1839) Y
B. BRESSLAUI
(AMARAL, 1935) (SAURIA: REPTILIA)
Vitoria Hellen Holanda¹
,
*, Robson Waldemar Avila¹ & Reinaldo José da Silva³
ISSN Versión Impresa 2218-6425 ISSN Versión Electrónica 1995-1403
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.62429/rnh20251911884
Universidad Nacional
Federico Villarreal
Volume 19, Number 1 (jan - jun) 2025
Este artículo es publicado por la revista Neotropical Helminthology de la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemática, Universidad Nacional Federico
Villarreal, Lima, Perú auspiciado por la Asociación Peruana de Helmintología e Invertebrados Af nes (APHIA). Este es un artículo de acceso abierto,
distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) [https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
deed.es] que permite el uso, distribución y reproducción en cualquier medio, siempre que la obra original sea debidamente citada de su fuente original.
ABSTRACT
Bachia
is a widespread genus of lizard, endemic to the Neotropical region. Despite this huge distribution, little is known
about aspects of their ecology, such as diet and parasitism. Herein, we present data on helminth infection of two species
of the genus,
B. dorbignyi
(Duméril & Bibron, 1839) and
B. bresslaui
(Amaral, 1935).T irty-one specimens were
analyzed, two helminths were found to
B. dorbignyi,
cystacanths of
Centrorhynchus
sp., and the nematode
Oswaldocruzia
sp. For
B. bresslaui
, one helminth was found, the cestode
Oochoristica
sp. Our study provides the f rst record of parasites
infecting
B. dorbignyi
and
B. bresslaui
.
Keywords:
Acanthocephala – Cestoda – Gymnophthalmidae – Lizards – Nematoda – parasites
RESUMO
Bachia
é um gênero de lagartos amplamente distribuído, endêmico da região Neotropical. Apesar dessa ampla distribuição,
pouco se sabe acerca de aspectos da sua ecologia, como padrões de dieta e parasitismo. Aqui apresentamos dados de infecção
por helmintos de duas espécies do gênero,
B. dorbignyi
(Duméril & Bibron, 1839), e
B. bresslaui
(Amaral, 1935)
.
Trinta
¹ Regional Ophiology Center, Federal University of Ceará, Block 905, Science Center, Pici Campus, Fortaleza- CE Zip Code
60455-760, Brazil.
³ Department of Biodiversity and Biostatistics, Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu
18618-689, SP, Brazil.
* Corresponding author: hellenvictoriabio@gmail.com
Vitoria Hellen Holanda:
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3959-9801
Robson Waldemar Avila:
https://orcid.org 0000-0003-3641-8321
Reinaldo José da Silva:
https://orcid.org 0000-0002-3426-6873
18
Neotropical Helminthology, Vol. 19, Nº1, jan - jun 2025
Holanda
et al.
e um espécimes foram analisados, dois helmintos foram encontrados para
B. dorbignyi
, cistacantos de
Centrorhynchus
sp.
e o
nematódeo
Oswaldocruzia
sp. Para
B. bresslaui
um helminto foi encontrado, o cestódeo
Oochoristica
sp. Nosso estudo
apresenta o primeiro registro de parasitas infectando
B. dorbignyi
e
B. bresslaui
.
Palavras-chave:
Acanthocephala – Cestoda – Gymnophthalmidae – lagartos – nematódeos – parasitas
RESUMEN
Bachia
es un género de lagarto ampliamente distribuido, endémico de la región Neotropical. A pesar de esa amplia
distribución, poco se conoce al respeto de aspectos de su ecología, como patrones de dieta y parasitismo. Acá presentamos
datos de infecciones por helmintos de dos especies del género
B. dorbignyi
(Duméril & Bibron, 1839) y
B. bresslaui
(Amaral, 1935). Treinta y uno especímenes fueron analizados, dos helmintos fueron encontrados para
B. dorbignyi
,
cistacantos de
Centrirhynchus
sp. y el nematodo
Oswaldocruzia
sp. Para
B.
bresslaui
un helminto fue encontrado, el
cestodo
Oochoristica
sp. Nuestra investigación presenta el primer registro de parásitos que infectan
B. dorbignyi
y
B.
bresslaui
.
Palabras-clave:
Acanthocephala - Cestoda - Gymnophthalmidae – lagartos - nematodos – parásitos
INTRODUCTION
Bachia
is a genus of small lizards, belonging to the family
Gymnophthalmidae, endemic to Neotropical region,
distinguished from others gymnophthalmids by the
fossorial habits, reduced eyes and absence of external
ear (Murphy
et al
., 2019; Uetz
et al.
, 2021). Currently,
31 species are known with wide distribution in South
America (Castrillon & Strussman, 1998). Despite this
huge distribution, studies on ecology, such as diet and
parasitism, are still scarce for the genus (Colli
et al.
, 1998;
Ávila & da Silva, 2011).
Parasitological studies are essential to better
understanding ecology, natural history, life cycle, and
evolution of parasites and hosts, as well as the host-
parasite interaction itself (de Albuquerque
et al.
, 2012;
Neta & Ávila, 2018). Although studies on helminths
of gymnophthalmids lizards have increased in the past
years (Oliveira
et al
., 2017; Neta & Ávila, 2018; Ribeiro
et al.
, 2018; Ferreira
et al.
, 2020) the knowledge of
parasitological aspects remains underestimate, especially
in
Bachia
. To date, helminths have been recorded only
for
B. scolecoides (
Vanzolini, 1961)
(Ávila & Silva, 2011).
Herein, we present parasitism data for two species of
Bachia, B. dorbignyi
(Duméril & Bibron, 1839) and
B.
bresslaui
(Amaral, 1935), increasing the knowledge about
the host-parasite interactions for the genus.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Hosts were housed at Coleção Zoológica de Vertebrados
da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso and the Coleção
Herpetológica Arlindo de Figueiredo Béda (CHAFD),
Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Specimens of
B. dorbignyi
were collected in transition zones Cerrado-
Amazon Biomes at Araputanga municipality (15°08’ S
58°54’ W), Mato Grosso State, from June 2005 to April
2007 by hand in both the faunal rescue programs and
herpetofaunal monitoring program of the Ombreras
Hydroelectric Power Plant (PCH Ombreras). Specimens
of
B. bresslaui
were collected at Dois Irmãos do Buriti
municipality (20° 41’ S; 55° 16’ W), Mato Grosso do Sul
state from September 2003 to October 2004 in pitfall
traps with drift fences installed in Brazilian Cerrado.
Lizards were euthanized, fxed with 10% formalin and
conserved in 70% ethanol. Te snout-vent length (SVL)
of each individual was measured with an aid of a digital
caliper to the nearest mm. Hosts were necropsied and
their body cavity, lungs, and digestive tract were analyzed
under a stereoscopic microscope for the presence of
helminths. Helminths encountered were placed in vials
of 70% ethanol for later identifcation. For species
identifcation, nematodes were cleared using lactophenol,
mounted on temporary slides, and analyzed under a
light microscope. Cestodes and Acanthocephala were
stained with alcoholic chloride carmine solution, and
cleared with eugenol. Following identifcation, voucher
helminths were deposited in the Coleção Helmintológica
19
Helminths of
Bachia
,
B. dorbignyi
and
B. bresslaui
Neotropical Helminthology, Vol. 19, Nº1, jan - jun 2025
do Instituto de Biociências da Unesp de Botucatu
(CHIBB 2378, 3338, 3348).
Ethic Aspects
: Tis study was approved by the Animal
Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal do Ceará
(CEUA-UFC, process #CEUA 6314010321.
RESULTS
Twenty-seven specimens of
B. dorbignyi
(63.5 ± 7.1
mm SVL; being nine females and 18 males) were
examined and two helminths were found: Cystacanths
of unidentifed centrorhynchid (n=1) and the nematode
Oswaldocruzia
sp. (n=2). Overall prevalence was 7.4%,
and the individual prevalence for both helminths was
3.7%. Te cystacanth were found in the body cavity of
an adult female of
B. dorbgnyi
, whereas the two females
of
Oswaldocruzia
sp. were found in the large intestine of
an adult male.
For
B. bresslaui
, four specimens (76 ± 2.9 mm SVL;
being one female and three males) were examined. One
helminth was found infecting the small intestine of an
adult female of
B. bresslaui
, the cestode
Oochoristica
sp.
(n=1).
DISCUSSION
Our study provides the frst records of helminths to
B.
dorbignyi
and
B. bresslaui
. To the best of our knowledge,
only Ávila
et. al
(2011), studied another
Bachia
,
which presented the occurrence of
Physaloptera sp.
and
Paradistomum parvissimum
Travassos, 1918 for
B.
scolecoides
, none of these nematodes were found for our
species.
Te majority of gymnophthalmids have smaller body
sizes (42.21 ± 8.8 mm SVL; Mesquita
et al.
2016),
which may constrain the helminth richness (Neta &
Ávila, 2018; Ribeiro
et al.,
2018; Teixeira
et al
., 2018;
Ferreira
et al.,
2020), as host body size play an important
role in parasitism (Ávila & Silva, 2013). Phylogenetic
relationships, when phylogenetically close taxa share
similarities in the use of niche, may also infuence body
shape and behavior and thus the acquisition of parasites
(Brito
et al.,
2014; Neta & Ávila, 2018). Our results
corroborate these patterns with low overall prevalence for
both species.
Fossorial habits require adaptations that might restrict
diferentiation patterns, in which the environment
imposes strong pressure on morphology, causing
convergent evolution and conservative morphology in
diferent groups (Albert
et al.
, 2007; Perez & Borges-
Martins, 2019). Te same pattern was found to parasite
communities, since several studies pointed low helminth
richness to other fossorial groups, such as mammals
(Lutermann & Bennett, 2012; Yáñez-Meza
et al.
, 2019;
Rodrigues
et al.
, 2020), amphibians (Van Sluys
et al.
,
2006; Teles
et al.
, 2015; Alcantara
et al.
, 2018) and
reptiles (Filogonio
et al
., 2013; Vieira
et al.
, 2019; Lacerda
et al
., 2023). Te same was found for gymnophythalmids
(Neta & Ávila, 2018; Ferreira
et al
., 2020; Lacerda
et al
.,
2023). Hence, fossoriality may limit parasite exposure
in the subterranean habitat. Although this hypothesis
is currently speculative it deserves further attention in
subsequent studies.
Our fndings agree with the pattern of low helminth
richness found and increased the knowledge of parasitism
to the genus
Bachia.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
RWA thanks to CNPq (PQ #307722/2021-0) and to
Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científco
e Tecnológico (FUNCAP) (#FC3-0198-00006.01.00/22;
UNI-0210-00556.01.00/23) for research funding.
Author contributions: CRediT (Contributor Roles
Taxonomy)
VHHS
= Vitoria Hellen Holanda dos Santos
RWA
= Robson Waldemar Ávila
RJS
= Reinaldo José da Silva
Conceptualization
: VHHS
Data curation
: RWA, RJS
Formal Analysis
: VHHS, RWA
Funding acquisition
: RWA
Investigation
: VHHS, RWA
Methodology
: VHHS, RWA
Project administration
: VHHS
Resources
: RWA
Software
: VHHS, RWA, RJS
Supervision
: VHHS, RWA
20
Neotropical Helminthology, Vol. 19, Nº1, jan - jun 2025
Holanda
et al.
Validation
: RWA
Visualization
: VHHS, RWA, RJS
Writing – original draft
: VHHS, RWA
Writing – review & editing
: VHHS, RWA, RJS
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