First multicenter coprological survey on helminth parasite communities of free-living loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Adriatic Sea and Northern Ionian Sea

The prevalence of endoparasite infections in 83 free-living specimens of Caretta caretta, classified as vulnerable species, from the Adriatic Sea and Northern Ionian Sea was investigated by coprological examination. Thirty-seven (44.6%) turtles were found to be infected with helminths. The helminth infections found were: Rhytidodes gelatinosus and Sulcascaris sulcata (18.1% each), Hapalotrema mistroides (13.2%), Cymatocarpus solearis (9.6%), Eniodotrema megachondrus (7.2%), Kathlania/Tonaudia sp. (3.6%), Neospirorchis sp., Octangium sagitta and Plesiochorus cymbiformis (1.2% each). There were no significant differences in the total prevalence of helminth infections between sexes, size classes, and seasonal periods. Conversely, the prevalence of helminth infections was significantly higher (P
Graphical abstract Image 1
Highlights • The loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta Mediterranean populations harboured helminth parasites. • First report of Octangium sagitta in loggerhead sea turtles living in the Mediterranean Sea. • Some epidemiological factors may affect helminth prevalence in free-living C. caretta.