Nematodes infecting Phyllopezus Pollicaris (Spix, 1825) (reptilia: Phyllodactylidae) in the Palmares national forest, Piauí state, Brazil

Authors

  • Brenda Milena Bezerra Costa Grupo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia do Centro-Norte Piauiense -BIOTECPI, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí - IFPI Campus Pedro II, 64255-000, Pedro II, Piauí, Brasil https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3037-2769
  • Kássio de Castro Araújo Grupo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia do Centro-Norte Piauiense – BIOTECPI, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí – IFPI https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4091-8521
  • Cristiana Ferreira-Silva Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará - UFC, Bloco 905, Centro de Ciências, Campus PICI, 60455-760, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3087-2614
  • Ronildo Alves Benício Laboratório de Herpetologia e Parasitologia de Animais Silvestres, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Campus Picos, 64607-670, Picos, Piauí, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-2172
  • Jussara da Conceição Eduardo Grupo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia do Centro-Norte Piauiense – BIOTECPI, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí – IFPI https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1233-0220
  • Samuel Lopes Pereira Grupo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia do Centro-Norte Piauiense – BIOTECPI, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí – IFPI https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7618-4535
  • Etielle Barroso Andrade Grupo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia do Centro-Norte Piauiense – BIOTECPI, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí – IFPI https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7618-4535

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62429/rnh20251911910

Keywords:

geckos, helminths, lizards, parasites

Abstract

Parasitological studies are important to understand the host-parasite interaction, providing information on the coevolution, biogeography, morphology, and diet of the species. The present study describes the endoparasite fauna of the lizard Phyllopezus pollicaris (Spix, 1825) in the Palmares National Forest, Piauí State, Brazil, a tropical forest covered by transitional vegetation between the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of lizards’ size and sex on endoparasite infection patterns. We analyzed 23 individuals of P. pollicaris, of which 18 were infected by at least one helminth, belonging to the Nematoda phylum: Spauligodon oxkutzcabiensis,Strongyloides sp., and Parapharyngodon sp. Overall, S. oxkutzcabiensis showed the highest prevalence (73.9), mean infection intensity (8.64 ± 12.7), and mean abundance (6.39 ± 11.5). We observed that the lizard size was positively related to the abundance of endoparasites, while the sex of individuals had a poor effect on parasitological descriptors. This study contributes information about the endoparasite fauna associated with P. pollicaris, composed exclusively of nematodes. As a pioneering study, it can be considered the starting point for parasitological studies involving lizards in Piauí State, Northeastern Brazil.

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Published

2025-03-31

How to Cite

Costa, B. M. B., Araújo, K. de C., Ferreira-Silva, C., Benício, R. A., Eduardo, J. da C., Pereira, S. L., & Andrade, E. B. (2025). Nematodes infecting Phyllopezus Pollicaris (Spix, 1825) (reptilia: Phyllodactylidae) in the Palmares national forest, Piauí state, Brazil. Neotropical Helminthology, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.62429/rnh20251911910