First Report of Gastrointestinal Helminths from the Wokan Cannibal , melanopyga (Amphibia: ), from Papua New Guinea1

Stephen R. Goldberg,2 Charles R. Bursey,3 and Fred Kraus4

Abstract: The initial gastrointestinal helminth list is established for (Doria) from Papua New Guinea. Examination of the digestive tracts of 16 L. melanopyga from April–May (n ¼ 14) and October (n ¼ 2) re- vealed six helminth : Digenea: Mesocoelium monas; Nematoda: Aplectana macintoshii, Cosmocerca novaeguineae, Oswaldocruzia bakeri, Abbreviata sp. (larvae in cysts); Acanthocephala: Acanthocephalus bufonis. Cosmocerca novaeguineae was present in the greatest numbers (171) and shared the highest prevalence (88%) with Acanthocephalus bufonis. Lechriodus melanopyga represents a new host record for each of these helminths. New Guinea is a new locality record for Mesocoe- lium monas and Acanthocephalus bufonis.

The family Limnodynastidae consists of materials and methods eight genera with over 40 species, of which and Lechriodus occur in both Sixteen Lechriodus melanopyga (mean snout- Australia and New Guinea; all other genera vent length, 50.0 G 2.46 SD; range, 46.6– are restricted to Australia (Zug et al. 2001, 56.0 mm) were collected by hand by F.K. Frost et al. 2006). The Wokan cannibal frog, from 29 April to 2 May 2002 and 5 October Lechriodus melanopyga (Doria) is a medium- 2002 at Duabo, 10.4184333 S, 150.3068333 sized, dull brown frog rarely more than 50 E (WGS 84 datum), 300 m, Pini Range, mm long that ranges across New Guinea Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. were (Zweifel 1972, Gu¨nther 2003) and breeds in fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and shallow forest swamps and puddles (Menzies preserved in 70% ethanol. The body cavity 1976; F.K., pers. obs.). There are, to our was opened by a lateral incision, and the knowledge, no published records of hel- digestive tract was removed, opened longitu- minths from this species. The purpose of dinally, and examined under a dissecting mi- this note is to report the first helminth croscope. Helminths were removed, placed records from L. melanopyga as part of an on- on a glass slide in a drop of undiluted glyc- going survey of the helminths of the herpeto- erol, covered with a coverslip, and examined fauna of Papua New Guinea. under a compound microscope. Nematodes were identified from the glycerol slides; dige- neans and acanthocephalans were regressively 1 This research was supported by NSF grant DEB- 0103794. This is contribution 2006-037 from the Pacific stained in Delafeld’s hematoxylin, mounted in Biological Survey at the Bishop Museum. Manuscript ac- Canada balsam, and identified. Frogs were cepted 14 August 2006. deposited in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum 2 Corresponding author: Department of Biology, (bpbm), Honolulu, Hawai‘i, as 15453–66 Whittier College, Whittier, California 90608 (phone: (April–May 2002) and 16259–60 (October 562-907-4294; e-mail: [email protected]). 3 Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State Univer- 2002). Helminths were placed in vials of sity, Shenango Campus, Sharon, Pennsylvania 16146. 70% ethanol and deposited in the United 4 Hawai‘i Biological Survey, Bishop Museum, Hono- States National Parasite Collection (usnpc), lulu, Hawai‘i 96817. Beltsville, Maryland, and the Bernice P. Bishop Museum (bpbm), Honolulu, Hawai‘i: Mesocoelium monas, usnpc 97835, bpbm F239; Pacific Science (2007), vol. 61, no. 3:429–432 usnpc bpbm : 2007 by University of Hawai‘i Press Aplectana macintoshii, 97836, All rights reserved H143; Cosmocerca novaeguineae, usnpc 97837,

429 430 PACIFIC SCIENCE . July 2007 bpbm H144; Oswaldocruzia bakeri, usnpc developmental stages including gravid indi- 97838, bpbm H145; Abbreviata sp. (larva), viduals. There were six helminth species rep- usnpc 97839, bpbm H146; Acanthocephalus bu- resented in the sample, but no individual host fonis, usnpc 97840, bpbm H147. harbored more than four species. All frogs were infected: two (12%) harbored one spe- results cies of helminth; seven (44%) harbored two species; six (38%) harbored three; and one One species of Digenea, Mesocoelium monas (6%) harbored four species. There were (Rudolphi, 1819) Freitas, 1957; four species 2.38 G 0.2 (G1 SE) helminth species per in- of Nematoda, Aplectana macintoshii (Stewart, fected frog and 16.0 G 3.4 helminth individ- 1914) Travassos, 1931, Cosmocerca novaegui- uals per infected frog. Aho (1990) compiled neae Moravec & Sey, 1990, Oswaldocruzia ba- distributional patterns for frog helminths in keri Moravec & Sey, 1986, Abbreviata sp. general and reported the mean G 1SEas (larvae in cysts); and one species of Acantho- 3.54 G 0.24 (range 0–9) per host species. cephala, Acanthocephalus bufonis (Shipley, The values reported herein are within the 1903) Southwell & Macfie, 1925 were found. range of Aho (1990), although the mean in- Number of helminths, prevalences, mean fective rate is lower than Aho (1990) re- intensity G 1 SD, range, mean abundance G 1 ported. The lower rate may be a reflection SD, and infection site are given in Table 1. of regional differences in frog infection rates Cosmocerca novaeguineae was present in the or something as simple as sample size differ- greatest numbers (171) and shared the high- ences. est prevalences (88%) with Acanthocephalus Mesocoelium monas is known from fishes, bufonis. , and reptiles (Goldberg et al. 2005b). It appears to be cosmopolitan in dis- discussion tribution. Aplectana macintoshii was previously found in the gecko Cyrtodactylus louisiadensis A total of 256 helminths was collected; of from New Guinea by Bursey et al. (2005). It these, 35 (14%) were larval forms (Abbreviata is the most cosmopolitan member of the ge- sp.) not capable of reaching maturity in frogs; nus and has been reported from species of the other species were represented by various frogs, toads, lizards, and one species of snake;

TABLE 1 Number, Prevalence (Percentage), Mean Intensity G 1 SD, Range, Mean Abundance G 1 SD, and Infection Site for Gastrointestinal Helminths from 16 Lechriodus melanopyga from Papua New Guinea

Helminth Prevalence Mean Mean Infection Site Number (%) Intensity G 1 SD Range Abundance G 1SD

Digenea Mesocoelium monas 4 6 4.0 — 0.25 G 1.0 Small intestine Nematoda Aplectana macintoshii 8 13 4.0 — 0.50 G 1.4 Large intestine Cosmocerca novaeguineae 171 88 12.2 G 10.7 1–42 10.69 G 10.9 Large intestine Oswaldocruzia bakeri 2 13 1.0 — 0.12 G 0.3 Small, large intestines Abbreviata sp. (larvae in cysts) 35 31 7.0 G 6.5 1–18 2.19 G 4.8 Stomach wall Acanthocephala Acanthocephalus bufonis 36 88 2.6 G 1.8 1–7 2.25 G 1.9 Small intestine Wokan Cannibal Frog Helminths . Goldberg et al. 431 it is known from Africa, China, Europe, tional Museum and Art Gallery for providing Japan, India, South America, and Malaysia in-country collaborative assistance; and the (Baker 1987, Goldberg et al. 1993). Cosmo- Department of Environment and Conserva- cerca novaeguineae was described from the tion, National Research Institute, and Milne ranid frog Platymantis papuensis from Papua Bay Provincial Government for permission New Guinea by Moravec and Sey (1990). Os- to conduct this research. waldocruzia bakeri was described by Moravec and Sey (1986) from the microhylid frogs Literature Cited Callulops stictogaster and Callulops wilhelmana from Papua New Guinea. It was also found Aho, J. M. 1990. Helminth communities of by Moravec and Sey (1986) in one other amphibians and reptiles: Comparative ap- microhylid frog species from Papua New proaches to understanding patterns and Guinea, Callulops humicola. Encysted larvae processes. Pages 157–195 in G. W. Esch, of Abbreviata sp. were reported in the gecko A. O. Bush, and J. M. Aho, eds. Parasite Cyrtodactylus louisiadensis from Papua New communities: Patterns and processes. Guinea by Bursey et al. (2005) and are com- Chapman and Hall, London. mon in Australian lizards ( Jones 1992, Baker, M. R. 1987. Synopsis of the Nema- 1995a,b, Goldberg and Bursey 2001). Acan- toda parasitic in amphibians and reptiles. thocephalus bufonis was originally described Memorial Univ. Newfoundland Occas. from the toads Bufo melanostictus and Bufo pe- Pap. Biol. 11:1–325. nangensis from Thailand by Shipley (1903) Barton, D. P., and S. Pichelin. 1999. Acantho- and redescribed by Kennedy (1982) from B. cephalus bufonis (Acanthocephala) from Bufo melanostictus from Indonesia. It has been re- marinus (Bufonidae: Amphibia) in Hawaii. ported from Belau in the anuran Platymantis Parasite 6:269–272. pelewensis by Bursey and Goldberg (2004); Bursey, C. R., and S. R. Goldberg. 2004. A from China in Rana formosus and R. nigroma- new species of Spinicauda (Nematoda: He- culata by Van Cleave (1937); from Hawai‘i in terakidae) and other endoparasites in Pla- Chaunus marinus (formerly Bufo marinus)by tymantis pelewensis (Anura: Ranidae) from Barton and Pichelin (1999) and in Rana rugosa the Palau Islands, Republic of Belau, Oce- by Goldberg et al. (2005a); from Malaysia in anica. J. Parasitol. 90:1428–1433. Bufo asper, Kaloula pulcra, Rana cancrivora, Bursey, C. R., S. R. Goldberg, and F. Kraus. Rana chalconota, Rana erythraea, Rana macro- 2005. New , new species of Cestoda don, and Rana tigrina by Yuen and Fernando (Anoplocephalidae), new species of Nema- (1967); as well as in lizards from Indonesia toda (Cosmocercidae) and other helminths (Takydromus sexlineatus) by Kennedy (1982) in Cyrtodactylus louisiadensis (Sauria: Gek- and from Hawai‘i (Anolis sagrei) by Goldberg konidae) from Papua New Guinea. J. Para- and Bursey (2000). Lechriodus melanopyga rep- sitol. 91:882–889. resents a new host record for each of the hel- Frost, D. R., T. Grant, J. Faivovich, R. H. minths listed here. New Guinea is a new Bain, A. Haas, C. F. B. Haddad, R. O. de locality record for Mesocoelium monas and Sa´, A. Channing, M. Wilkinson, S. C. Acanthocephalus bufonis. Subsequent work is Donnellan, C. J. Raxworthy, J. A. Camp- required to ascertain the diversity of hel- bell, B. L. Blotto, P. Moler, R. C. Drewes, minths found in the amphibians and reptiles R. A. Nussbaum, J. D. Lynch, D. M. of Papua New Guinea. Green, and W. C. Wheeler. 2006. The tree of life. Bull. Am. Mus. acknowledgments Nat. Hist. 297:1–370. Goldberg, S. R., and C. R. Bursey. 2000. We thank S. Kark and E. Teodoro for assis- Transport of helminths to Hawaii via the tance with dissections; J. Slapcinsky for field brown anole, Anolis sagrei (Polychrotidae). assistance; B. Lebasi for graciously facilitating J. Parasitol. 86:750–755. work on his land; the Papua New Guinea Na- ———. 2001. Intestinal helminths of seven 432 PACIFIC SCIENCE . July 2007

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