Herpetology Notes, volume 10: 617-618 (2017) (published online on 10 November 2017)

First record of Foleyella convoluta (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) parasitizing Leptodactylus macrosternum (Anura: ) from Brazil

Diêgo Alves Teles1,*, João Antonio de Araújo Filho1, Adonias Aphoena Martins Teixeira1, V.F. Lima2 and A.M.A. Pereira2

Nematodes are important parasites of reptiles (Ávila Brazil. Thirty one (31) L. macrosternum specimens & Silva, 2010) and (Campião et al., 2014). were examined: 19 males (mean = 63.97 ± 08.31 SVL They can cause in your hosts tissue damage in the mm; range = 52.43 - 84.13 mm) and 12 females (mean organs they infect and even cause local extinctions = 72.97 ± 10:40 SVL mm; range = 58.99 - 87.28 mm). of populations of their hosts (Farrell et al., 2015). All captured specimens were immediately euthanized It is therefore one of the most important groups of by lidocaine injection and fixed with 10% formalin and parasites to be studied. The Leptodactylidae family is then preserved in 70% alcohol. The snout-vent length distributed extreme southern United States, Mexico, (SVL) measured with a digital caliper (precision 0.5 Central America to South America (Frost et al., 2016). mm). The sex of the specimens was based on analysis Currently there are 74 recorded species of Leptodactylus of their gonads. The body cavity, and respiratory occurring in Brazil (Segalla et al., 2016). Leptodactylus and gastrointestinal tracts were examined under a macrosternum Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926, occurs in the stereomicroscope for search nematodes parasites. The Northeast of Brazil, including the Ceará state (Frost et endoparasites found were counted and the site(s) of al., 2016). It is a medium-sized which features nocturnal infection were identified. Nematodes parasites were activity and diet consisting mainly arthropods, included preserved in 70% alcohol and subsequently mounted on consumption of crustaceans (Teles et al., 2014). The temporary slides using Hoyer’s medium, and identified aim of this study was to report the nematodes infection with an optical microscope. Slides were deposited associated with a population of L. macrosternum in the in the Parasitological Collection of the Universidade semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. Specimens of L. Regional do Cariri. A total of 10 nematodes were in the macrosternum were collected manually on 12 September gastrointestinal tract of L. macrosternum. The nematodes 2011 the night (between 19:00 to 22:00) in the weir were identified according to Vincent et al., (1991). The of the Rosário, in semi-arid area in the municipality prevalence and intensity of infection was determined of Milagres (-7.301872 ° S -38.98416 ° W , 332 m as Bush et al., (1997). The stomach were infected with altitude, Datum SAD 69), Ceará state, northeastern Foleyella convoluta (Molin, 1858) Travassos, 1928. The overall prevalence was 6.45 (2/31) in males was 5.26 (1/19) and females 8.33 (1/12). The intensity in males and females was 7 and 3, respectively. The Foleyella genus currently has three species infecting in 1 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas South America, F. convoluta, F. scalaris (Travassos, (Zoologia), Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia 1928) and F. vellardi (Travassos, 1928) that have been – DSE, Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza – CCEN, recorded infecting frogs of the Hylidae, Leptodactylidae Universidade Federal da Paraíba – UFPB, Cidade and Bufonidae in Brazil. The parasite F. convoluta has Universitária, Campus I, CEP 58059-900, João Pessoa, PB, also been recorded in the following species from Brazil. Brazil: Hypsiboas faber, Leptodactylus fuscus, L. 2 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioprospecção Molecular, latrans and L. pentadactylus (Campião et al., 2014). To Departamento de Química Biológica, Universidade Regional do Cariri – URCA, Rua Cel. Antônio Luiz, 1161, Campus do our knowledge, this record represents L. macrosternum Pimenta, 63105-000, Crato, CE, Brazil as a new host to F. convoluta. Others nematodes that * Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] have already been recorded infecting L. macrosternum: 618 D.A. Teles et al.

Cosmocerca podicipinus and Oxyascaris oxyascaris Campião, K.M., Morais, D.H., Dias, O.T., Aguiar, A., Toledo, (Campião et al., 2014). There are reports in the literature G.M., Tavares, L.E.R., Silva, J.R. (2014). Checklist of Helminth of the few studies investigating the host-parasite parasites of Amphibians from South America. Zootaxa 3843: 001-093. association in northeastern Brazil (Araujo Filho et al, Farrell, M.J., Stephens, P.R., Berrang-Ford, L., Gittleman, J. L., 2015.), especially for amphibians (Teles et al, 2015; Davies, T. J. (2015). The path to host extinction can lead to loss 2014). The new investigations may demonstrate the of generalist parasites. Journal of Ecology 2015: 1-7. wealth of nematodes parasites that have some association doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12342 with anurans in semi-arid areas in the Caatinga biome, Frost, D.R. (2016). Species of the World: an Online Neotropical Region. Reference. Version 6.0 (03 September, 2016). American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Avaliable:http:// research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/ Acknowledgments. DAT and JAAF thank the Conselho Leptodactylus macrosternum. Acessed in: 30/september/2016. Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq Segalla, M.V., Caramaschi, U., Cruz, C.A.G., Grant, T., C.F.B., for a research fellowship. AAMT thank Coordenação de Langone, J.A.,P.C.A. (2016). Brazilian Amphibians: List of Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES for a Species. Herpetologia Brasileira 3: 37 - 48. research fellowship. Teles, D.A., Cabral, M.E.S., Araujo Filho, J.A., Dias, D.Q., Ávila, R.W., Almeida, W.O. (2014). Helminths of Leptodactylus vastus References (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in an area of the Caatinga, Brazil. Araujo Filho, J.A., Brito, S.V., Almeida, W.O., Morais, D.H., Ávila, Herpetology notes 7: 355-356. R.W. (2015). A new species of Parapharyngodon (Nematoda: Teles, D.A., Teixeira, A.P.M., Araujo Filho, J.A., Cabral, M.E.S., Pharyngodonidae) infecting Dermatonotus muelleri (Anura: Sales, R.M.A., Dias, D.Q. (2014). Leptodactylus macrosternum. Microhylidae) from Caatinga, Northeastern Brazil. Zootaxa Diet. Herpetological Review 45: 304. 4012: 386-390. Teles, D.A., Sousa, J.G.G., Teixeira, A.A.M., Silva, M.C., Oliveira, Ávila, RW., Silva, RJ. (2010). Check-list of helminths from lizards R.H., Silva, M.R.M., Ávila, RW. (2015). Helminths of the frog and amphisbaenians (Reptilia: Squamata) of South America. diplolister (Anura, Leiuperidae) from the Caatinga The Journal of Venomous and Toxins including Tropical in Pernambuco State, Northeast Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Diseases 16: 543-572. Biology 75: 251-253. Baker, M.R. (1987). Synopsis of the nematoda parasitic in Vicente, J.J., Rodrigues, H.O., Gomes, D.C., Pinto, R.M. (1991). amphibians and reptiles. Memorial University Newfoundland Nematóides do Brasil 2º parte: nematoides de anfíbios. Revista Occasional papers in biology 11: 1-325. Brasileira de Zoologia 7: 549-626. Bush, A.O., Lafferty, K.D., Lotz, J.M., Shostak, A.W. (1997). Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. Revisited. Journal Parasitology 83: 575-583.

Accepted by Robson Ávila