Yeasts Occurring in Surface and Mouth Cavity of Two Chelonian Species,Podocnemis expansaSchweigger andP. unifilisTroschel (Reptilia: Chelonia: Pelomedusidae), in the Javaés River Border of Araguaia National Park in Brazil

Thirty-eight specimens of free-rangingPodocnemis expansa(Amazon turtle) and 22 ofP. unifilis(Tracajá) were screened for yeast isolation from surface (plastron, skin, and nails), eye, and mouth cavity. A hundred and eighteen yeast isolates belonging to 39 species were obtained.Debaryomyces hansenii,Candida galli,C. sake, andRhodotorula mucilaginosawere the most frequent species isolated from these chelonians. Species diversity measured by Shannon's index was shown to be low and a degree of dominance could be detected as species known as potential pathogens were commonly isolated. The effective number of species in plastron ofP. expansawas higher than in mouth samples, but not inP. unifilisprobably due to dietary factors.P. expansaanimals were captured on the beaches, and the superficial yeast populations may include terrestrial species.P. unifilisanimals were captured in the water and the yeasts from superficial sites may represent species from river water.