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This study aimed to analyze helminth assemblage in Rhinella dorbignyi regarding host gender, size and mass in two sampling sites in southern Brazil, and to report new parasite associations. Anurans (n = 100) were collected in two localities from Rio Grande do Sul (RS) state, Brazil, from 2017 to 2020. Nineteen taxa (adults and larval forms) belonging to Nematoda, Acanthocephala, Digenea, and Cestoda were found in different infection sites. Cosmocercidae gen. spp., Physaloptera liophis, Catadiscus sp., and Cylindrotaenia americana were the dominant taxa in helminth assemblage. Female anurans showed higher helminth species richness than males considering the total sample (two localities) or one of the two localities. However, prevalence and mean intensity of infection did not show any significant difference between genders. Mean intensity of infection was significantly higher (19.52) in Laranjal locality. Host body size does not influence helminth abundance, as infections did not show significant correlation snout-vent length (SVL) nor body mass (BM) of anurans. The findings reveal anurans of R. dorbignyi may be intermediate, paratenic and definitive host for these parasites. Plagiorchioidea helminths (Digenea), Physaloptera liophis, larvae of Acuariidae and Spiroxys sp. (Nematoda), and cystacanth of Lueheia sp. (Acanthocephala) constitute new records for R. dorbignyi. Additionally, this is the first record of Cylindrotaenia americana larvae in this host species. Resulting information increases the knowledge on biodiversity and parasite-host relations and may help future conservation programs developed in ecosystems in the extreme south of Brazil., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Maintenance of the life cycle of a wide diversity of helminths depends on the aquatic environment. Freshwater turtles are considered one of the main groups in these ecosystems due to their high density and biomass. However, there is little information on the infection parameters of helminths associated with the Chelidae species Hydromedusa tectifera, Phrynops hilarii, and Acanthochelys spixii that occur in the Pampa biome. Therefore, this study aimed at analyzing the gastrointestinal helminth assemblage of the three species. Analyses showed that A. spixii was associated with 11 helminth taxa while P. hilarii and H. tectifera were parasitized by eight taxa each. The gastrointestinal helminth assemblage of A. spixii and H. tectifera showed high similarity by the Morisita index. Infections suggest that the helminth fauna is directly related to the diet of the hosts, since A. spixii, P. hilarii, and H. tectifera are generalist and/or opportunistic with diets composed of various invertebrates, which, in turn, are part of the life cycles as intermediate hosts of most of the identified helminths. Thus, this study highlights not only the importance of helminthological research for the understanding of the biology of host organisms, but also the need for conservation of flooded areas characteristic of the Pampa biome, which is essential to maintain the diversity of the ecosystem., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Information about helminths of Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789) (Passeriformes: Icteridae) are scarce; in this sense the objective of this paper was to contribute to its knowledge. Five hosts of southern Brazil were examined and the helminths Prosthogonimus ovatus, Tanaisia valida (Digenea), Diplotriaena bargusinica and Synhimantus (Dispharynx) nasuta (Nematoda) were identified. The species T. valida, P. ovatus and S. (D.) nasuta are for the first time registered for the bird in Brazil. Prosthogonimus ovatus, T. valida, D. bargusinica e S. (D.) nasuta are first recorded in M. bonariensis in the southern Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul.

This study aimed to identify the parasites that inhabit the digestive system of Sus scrofa scrofa from a commercial breeding facility in southern Brazil, and reports the first occurrence of Trichostrongylus colubriformis in wild boars. The gastrointestinal tracts of 40 wild boars from a commercial breeding facility were collected and individualized during slaughter in a cold-storage slaughterhouse. Out of this total, 87.5% were parasitized by the helminths Ascaris suum, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Oesophagostomum dentatum and Trichuris suis. T. colubriformis presented a prevalence of 45%, mean intensity of 28.4 and mean abundance of 12.8. The data from this study showed that T. colubriformis not only has a capacity to develop in the small intestines of wild boars, but also adapts well to animals raised in captivity, thus representing a possible cause of economic loss in commercial wild boar farming.

With the objective of identifying the helminths of Paroaria coronata, 40 birds were necropsied, and their organs and contents were examined. The parasites were preserved in 70 masculineGL alcohol and prepared for identification using standard techniques. The helminth fauna found in P. coronata were Aproctella carinii, Dispharynx nasuta, Capillaria sp., Diplotriaena sp., Tanaisia oviaspera, Tanaisia valida, Tanaisia sp., Prosthogonimus ovatus, Orthoskrjabinia sp., and Mediorhynchus sp., with Nematoda being most represented, occurring in 22.5% of the birds. Besides being the first record of these helminths in P. coronata, this work also extends the area of occurrence of Orthoskrjabinia sp. for Brazil and of A. carinii, Diplotriaena sp., T. oviaspera, T. valida, and Mediorhynchus sp. for the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

We analyzed the diet and helminthological fauna of the frog Boana pulchella from the extreme south of Brazil. A total of 100 males were collected from two wetland areas in the state of Rio Grande do Sul: Ilha dos Marinheiros (n = 50) in the Rio Grande municipality, and the UFPel/ Embrapa (n = 50) in the Capão do Leão municipality. Boana pulchella food items and helminths found in different organs were identified and quantified. We analyzed the relationship between helminth assemblage and host diet, body size, and sampling sites. Boana pulchella presented a generalist diet, composed mainly of terrestrial insects, with diet richness higher at Ilha dos Marinheiros. Helminth fauna was composed of Nematoda, Cestoda, Digenea, and Acanthocephala, with no difference in helminth richness and abundance between sampling sites. However, the abundance of helminths presented a significant correlation with the volume of items found in the gastrointestinal contents of the anurans from UFPel/Embrapa-CL. Although for some helminth taxa there were significant differences in prevalence and mean intensity of infection among host size classes, the GLM (generalized linear model) between helminth abundance and anuran SVL (snout-vent length) was not significant. Oxyascaris oxyascaris, Cosmocercinae gen. spp., Ochoterenella sp., Diplostomidae gen. spp., Pseudoacanthocephalus sp., and Centrorhynchus sp. were the main taxa constituting the helminth assemblage associated to B. pulchella males at the sampling sites. The occurrence of helminths at larval and adult stages suggests that B. pulchella may occupy different trophic levels in the biological cycles of those helminths. This helminth parasitic fauna associated with B. pulchella is mainly composed of taxa with heteroxenous cycles involving several intermediate and paratenic hosts, which agrees with the observations of a typical generalist anuran diet in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the study about the prevalence of helminth nematodes, Spiroxys contortus and Falcaustra affinis, in slider turtle, Trachemys dorbigni, in southern Brazil. Topics cited include a description of both nematodes, the geographic distribution of the nematodes as a parasite of several turtle species, nematodes morphology, and taxonomic summary.

The presence of helminths associated with freshwater turtles is rarely reported. There are no records of nematodes parasitizing Acanthochelys spixii, and for Hydromedusa tectifera, there is only the report of unidentified nematodes found in this species in Argentina. This is the first report of nematodes ( Spiroxys contortus and Camallanus sp.) in A. spixii and the first record of Spiroxys contortus and Camallanus sp. in H. tectifera. This is the southernmost record of S . contortus because this nematode was previously recorded only in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the species of helminths infecting the respiratory tract of Sus scrofa scrofa from commercial breeding and check the existence of a possible antagonistic relationship of these species with Ascaris suum. Forty wild boars were analyzed, and the genus Metastrongylus was recorded in the bronchi and bronchioles of 60 % of these, with the occurrence of the species Metastrongylus apri, Metastrongylus salmi, and Metastrongylus pudendotectus. The highest prevalence found was in M. apri (52.5 %), followed by M. salmi (20 %), and M. pudendotectus (7.5 %), registering the highest prevalence of Metastrongylus in wild boars from commercial breeding so far. M. apri was first reported parasitizing wild boars bred in captivity. There was no observed significant influence of A. suum in the mean intensity of Metastrongylus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]