Helminths of two anuran species, Atelopus spurrelli (Bufonidae) and Dendrobates histrionicus (Dendrobatidae), from Colombia, South America

Parasitology International 52 (2003) 251–253

Research note

Helminths of two anuran species, Atelopus spurrelli (Bufonidae) and Dendrobates histrionicus (Dendrobatidae), from Colombia, South America Stephen R. Goldberga,*, Charles R. Burseyb a

Biology Department, Whittier College, Whittier, CA 90608, USA Pennsylvania State University, Shenango Campus, Sharon, PA 16146, USA

b

Received 1 March 2002; accepted 9 April 2003

Abstract Two species of anurans from Colombia, South America, Atelopus spurrelli and Dendrobates histrionicus, were examined for helminths. A. spurrelli was found to harbor three species of Nematoda, adults of Cosmocerca podicipinus and larvae of Physocephalus sp. and Porrocaecum sp. D. histrionicus was found to harbor, in addition to C. podicipinus, Physocephalus sp. and Porrocaecum sp. and cystacanths of three species of Acanthocephala: Centrorhynchus sp., Onicola sp. and Polymorphus sp. A. spurrelli and D. histrionicus represent new host records for these helminths. 䊚 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Atelopus spurrelli; Dendrobates histrionicus; Anura; Colombia; South America; Nematoda; Acanthocephala

Atelopus spurrelli Boulenger, 1914 (Bufonidae) is known from Choco´ and Caldas Provinces of western Colombia; Dendrobates histrionicus Berthold, 1846 (Dendrobatidae) occurs in western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador w1x. There are, to our knowledge, no reports of helminths from these anurans. The purpose of this note is to present the first records of helminths from A. spurrelli and D. histrionicus. Thirty-five A. spurrelli (snout-vent length (SVL)s26 mm"4.4 S.D., ranges22–34 mm) and 35 D. histrionicus (SVLs32 mm"0.8 S.D., *Corresponding author. Tel.: q1-562-907-4294. E-mail address: [email protected] (S.R. Goldberg).

range 31–33 mm) were borrowed from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (LACM), Los Angeles. Accession numbers for A. spurrelli were LACM 45633, 45637, 45639, 45640, 45642, 45643, 45649, 45655–45659, 45665, 45666, 45672, 45674, 45675, 45678, 45679, 56881, 45684, 45686–45689, 45693, 45694, 45699, 45701, 45703, 45706, 45707, 45715, 45718, 45721; for D. histrionicus, LACM 42924, 42932, 42944, 42946, 42978, 43007, 43010, 43017, 43019, 43021, 43022, 43024, 43026, 43028– 43039, 43041–43044, 43048, 43050, 43056, 43058–43060. These anurans were collected on ´ Napipı´ (068309N, 5–6 May 1968 at Upper Rıo

1383-5769/03/$ - see front matter 䊚 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S1383-5769(03)00013-8

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S.R. Goldberg, C.R. Bursey / Parasitology International 52 (2003) 251–253

Table 1 Number of helminths (噛), prevalence (%), mean intensity (X"S.D.), range (r) and site of infection for A. spurrelli and D. histrionicus from Colombia, South America Helminth

A. spurrelli

Site

噛

%

X"S.D.

r

噛

%

X"S.D.

r

118

83

4.0"2.3

1–11

61

83

2.1"1.3

1–6

172

51

9.6"7.6

1–34

23

37

1.8"0.9

1–4

3

6

1.5"0.7

1–2

7

9

2.3"0.6

2–3

Nematoda C. podicipinus Small, large intestine Physocephalus sp. Cysts in digestive tract musculature Porrocaecum sp. Cysts in coelom Acanthocephala Centrorhynchus sp. Cyst in stomach wall musculature Onicola sp. Cysts in coelom Polymorphus sp. Cyst in stomach wall musculature

D. histrionicus

–

–

–

–

1

3

1

–

–

–

–

–

2

3

1

–

–

–

–

–

1

3

1

–

768509W), Choco´ Province, Colombia, South America, fixed in 10% formalin and preserved in 70% ethanol. The body cavity was opened by a longitudinal incision and the digestive tract was removed, opened longitudinally and examined for helminths under a dissecting microscope. The body cavity was also searched for helminths; however, because of their small size, neither lungs nor urinary bladders were examined. Helminths were cleared in undiluted glycerol on a glass slide under a coverslip and examined with a compound microscope. Number of helminths, number of infected hosts, prevalence (number of infected hosts divided by number of hosts examined), mean intensity (mean number of helminths per infected host) and range (lowest and highest intensities) are presented in Table 1. A. spurrelli harbored three species of Nematoda: adults of Cosmocerca podicipinus Baker and Vaucher, 1984; larvae of Physocephalus sp.; larvae of Porrocaecum sp. D. histrionicus harbored the same three species of Nematoda (same stages) and cystacanths (larvae) of three species of Acanthocephala, Centrorhynchus sp., Onicola sp., Polymorphus sp. Selected helminths in vials of 70% ethanol were deposited in the United States National Parasite Collection (USNPC), Beltsville, MD.

A. spurrelli: C. podicipinus (92033); Physocephalus sp. (92034); Porrocaecum sp. (92035). D. histrionicus: C. podicipinus (92036); Physocephalus sp. (92037); Porrocaecum sp. (92038); Centrorhynchus sp. (92039); Onicola sp. (92041); Polymorphus sp. (92040). C. podicipinus was originally described from Leptodactylus podicipinus, L. fuscus, L. elenae and L. macrosternum (Leptodactylidae) collected in Paraguay w2x and has been reported from Bufo typhonius (Bufonidae), Colostethus marchesianus, Epipedobates femoralis (Dendrobatidae), Eleutherodactylus imitatrix and Leptodactylus leptodactyloides (Leptodactylidae) from Peru w3x. A. spurrelli and D. histrionicus represent new host records for C. podicipinus. The remaining helminths were larvae representing species that do not mature in anurans. Physocephalus sp. is commonly found encapsulated in gut musculature of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals that have ingested dung beetles containing infective larvae w4x. Porrocaecum sp. is a bird parasite; earthworms serve as intermediate hosts w4x. Species of the Acanthocephala are vertebrate parasites but require arthropod intermediate hosts w5x. Infection occurs when invertebrate hosts are eaten; however, if the vertebrate host is inappropriate, the acanthocephalan (cystacanth stage)

S.R. Goldberg, C.R. Bursey / Parasitology International 52 (2003) 251–253

migrates to the body cavity and encysts w5x. The occurrence of these larvae might be expected in any insectivore. This is the first report of these genera (Physocephalus, Porrocaecum, Centrorhynchus, Onicola, Polymorphus) in A. spurrelli and D. histrionicus. With well over 200 species of anurans occurring in Colombia w6x, extensive examination of many additional species will be needed before the helminth diversity of Colombian anurans can be known. Acknowledgments David A. Kizirian (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) provided the anurans examined in this study.

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References w1x Frost DR, editor. Amphibian species of the world: a taxonomic and geographical reference. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, Inc. and the Association of Systematics Collections, 1985. w2x Baker MR, Vaucher C. Parasitic helminths from Paraguay VI: Cosmocerca Diesing, 1861 (Nematoda: Cosmocercoidea) from frogs. Revue Suisse Zool 1984;91:925 –34. w3x Bursey CR, Goldberg SR, Parmelee JR. Gastrointestinal helminths of 51 species of anurans from Reserva Cuzco ´ Amazonico, Peru. Comp Parasitol 2001;68:21 –35. w4x Anderson RC. Nematode parasites of vertebrates: their development and transmission. 2nd ed. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing, 2000. w5x Schmidt GD. Development and life cycles. In: Crompton DWT, Nickol BB, editors. Biology of the Acanthocephala. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. p. 273 –306. w6x Cochran DM, Goin CJ. Frogs of Colombia, vol. 288. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, 1970. p. 1 –655.