Protozoa and Nematodes Infecting Odontophrynus occidentalis (Anura, Odontophrynidae) from the Monte Desert of Argentina
Abstract
The parasitofauna of amphibians from the province of San Juan has been studied very little. In particular, only one helminthological study has been reported on Odontophrynus occidentalis (Berg, 1896). The aim of the present study was to describe the endoparasites of O. occidentalis, including protozoa and nematodes. Twenty-one adults (13 males and 8 females) of O. occidentalis were analysed for parasites. Collected parasites were examined using standard parasitological techniques. Parasitological descriptors such as prevalence and mean intensity were calculated. Specimens belonging to the phyla Ciliophora and Nematoda were found in the intestinal tract. Protozoa of the genus Nyctotheroides and two nematode species, Aplectana hylambatis and Falcaustra sanjuanensis, were identified. This study provides new information on the new parasitic infection of amphibians for the province of San Juan. We emphasize the need to increase the knowledge of the amphibian parasitofauna, mainly related to protozoa in these vertebrates, since the literature presents few reports.
References
Affa'a, F. M., Hickey, D. A., Strüder-Kypke, M. & Lynn, D. H. 2004. Phylogenetic position of species in the genera Anoplophrya, Plagiotoma, and Nyctotheroides (Phylum Ciliophora), endosymbiotic ciliates of annelids and anurans. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 51 (3), 301-306.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.2004.tb00570.x
Albaret, J. L. 1975. Etude systématique et cytologique sur les ciliés hétérotriches endocommensaux. Mémoire du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 44, 521-531.
Bursey, C. R., Goldberg, S. R., Siler, C. D. & Brown, R. M. 2020. New Species of Falcaustra (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) and other helminths in Megophrys stejnegeri (Anura: Megophryidae) from Samar Island, Philippines. Comparative Parasitology, 87, 4-11.
https://doi.org/10.1654/1525-2647-87.1.4
Bush, A. O., Lafferty, K., Lotz, J. M. & Shostak, A. W. 1997. Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. Journal of Parasitology, 83, 575-583.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3284227
Cabagna Zenkluzen, M. C., Lajmanovich, R. C., Peltzer, P. M., Attademo, A., Fiorenza Biancucci, G. S. & Bassó, A. 2009. Primeros registros de endoparásitos en cinco especies de anfibios anuros del litoral argentino. Cuadernos de herpetología. 23, 33-40.
Cabrera, A. L. 1976. Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería, Tomo II, Regiones Fitogeograficas Argentinas, Editorial ACME S.A.C.I. 36-42.
Campião, K. M., Morais, D. H.; Dias, O. T., Aguiar, A., Toledo, G. & Tavares, L. E. R. 2014. Checklist of Helminth parasites of Amphibians from South America. Zootaxa, 3843, 1-93.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3843.1.1
Cocilio, R. A. N., Acosta, J. C. & Blanco, G. M. 2020. Uso y selección de microhábitat en un ensamble de anuros del Chaco Serrano de Argentina. Revista de Biología Tropical, 68 (3), 862-872.
https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v68i3.40390
Cordero, E. H. 1928. Protozoarios parásitos de algunos animales del Uruguay. Boletín del Instituto de Clínica Quirúrgica, 4, 586-592.
da Silva, I., Pacheco, E. O., da Silva, L. A., Carvalho, P. S., Santana, D. J. & Roland Tavares, L. E. 2018. Metazoan parasites of Odontophrynus americanus (Anura: Odontophrynidae) from the Serra da Bodoquena mountain range, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Herpetology Notes, 11, 343-347.
Frost, D. R. 2021. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1 (29/03/2021). Electronic Database accessible at https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
González, C. E. & Hamann, M. I. 2009. First report of nematodes in the common lesser escuerzo Odontophrynus americanus (Duméril and Bibron, 1841) (Amphibia: Cycloramphidae) from Corrientes, Argentina. Comparative Parasitology, 76 (1), 122-126.
https://doi.org/10.1654/4365.1
González, C. E. & Hamann, M. I. 2015. Checklist of nematode parasites of amphibians from Argentina. Zootaxa, 3980 (4), 451-476.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3980.4.1
González, C. E., Gómez, V. I. & Hamann, M. I. 2019. Morphological variation of Aplectana hylambatis (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) from different anuran hosts and localities in Argentina. Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, 91 (3), e20171028.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201920171028
González, C. E., Quiroga, L. B. & Sanabria, E. A. 2014. First survey of nematode parasites in introduced American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Argentina. Comparative Parasitology, 81 (2), 284-287.
https://doi.org/10.1654/4700.1
González, C. E., Quiroga, L. B., Moreno, D. & Sanabria, E. A. 2013 b. Primer registro de Aplectana hylambatis (Nematoda, Cosmocercidae) para anfibios de la provincia de San Juan. Cuadernos de herpetología, 27, 155-159.
González, C. E., Sanabria, E. A. & Quiroga, L. B. 2013 a. Falcaustra sanjuanensis sp. nov. (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) from Odontophrynus cf. barrioi (Anura: Cycloramphidae) from Argentina. Acta Parasitologica. 58 (1), 119-125.
https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-013-0105-2
González C. E., Duré, M. I., Palomas, S. A., Schaefer, E. F., Etchepare, E. G. & Acosta, J. L. 2021. Contributions to the knowledge of parasitic nematodes of amphibians from the Dry Chaco ecoregion of Argentina. Cuadernos de Herpetología, 36(1).
Hamann, M. I. & González, C. E. 2009. Larval digenetic trematodes in tadpoles of six amphibian species from Northeastern Argentina. Journal of Parasitology, 95 (3), 623-628.
https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-1738.1
Hamann, M. I., Kehr, A. I. & González, C. E. 2013. Biodiversity of trematodes associated with amphibians from different habitats in Corrientes Province, Argentina. Journal of Helminthology, 87 (3), 286-300.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X12000302
IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 13/02/2021.
Lent, H. & Freitas, J. F. T. 1948. Uma coleção de Nematódeos, parasitos de vertebrados, do Museu de Historia Natural de Montevideo. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 46, 1-71.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761948000100001
Li, M., Hu, G., Li, C., Zhao, W. S., Zou, H., Li, W. X., Wu, S. G., Wang, G. T. & Ponce-Gordo, F. 2020. Morphological and molecular characterization of a new ciliate Nyctotheroides grimi n. sp. (Armophorea, Clevelandellida) from Chinese frogs. Acta tropica, 208, 105531.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105531
Lillywhite, H. B., Shine, R., Jacobson, E., Denardo, D. F., Gordon, M. S., Navas, C. A., Wang, T., Seymour, R. S., Storey, K. B., Heatwole, H., Heard, D., Brattstrom, B. & Burghardt, G. M. 2017 Anesthesia and euthanasia of amphibians and reptiles used in scientific research: should hypothermia and freezing be prohibited? Bioscience, 67 (1), 53-61.
https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw143
Lynn, D. H. & Wright, A. D. G. 2013. Biodiversity and molecular phylogeny of Australian Clevelandella species (class Armophorea, order Clevelandellida, family Clevelandellidae), intestinal endosymbiotic ciliates in the wood‐feeding roach Panesthia cribrata Saussure, 1864. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 60 (4), 335-341.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12037
Martino, A. L., Dehling, J. M. & Sinsch, U. 2019. Integrative taxonomic reassessment of Odontophrynus populations in Argentina and phylogenetic relationships within Odontophrynidae (Anura). PeerJ. 7, e6480.
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6480
Mazza, S., González, C., Franke, I. & Alvarado, S. 1927. Tripanosomas observados en ranas (Leptodactylus ocelatus L.) del país. Revista de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, 5, 902-905.
Piñeiro, M. D., González, C. E. & Sanabria, E. A. 2017. A new species of Aplectana (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) parasite of Pleurodema nebulosum (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Monte desert, Argentina, with a key to Neotropical species of the genus Aplectana, Zootaxa. 4247 (2), 121-130.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4247.2.3
Otamendi, J. C. 1945. Contribución al conocimiento de protozoarios enterozoicos de anfibios argentinos. Tesis del Museo de La Plata. 7, 71.
Ramallo, G., Bursey C. R., Goldberg, S. R., Castillo, G. & Acosta, J. C. 2016. Leptodactylus latrans (Creole Frog). Endoparasites. Herpetology Review, 47, 279-280.
Salas, N. E. & di Tada, I. E. 1988. Análisis bioacústico del canto nupcial de poblaciones de Odontophrynus achalensis y O. occidentalis (Anura: leptodactylidae) en la provincia de Córdoba. Boletín de la Asociación Herpetológica Argentina, 4, 2-3.
Sanabria, E. A., Quiroga, L. B. & Martino, A. L. 2012. Variation in the thermal parameters of Odontophrynus occidentalis in the Monte Desert, Argentina: response to the environmental constraints. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, 317 (3), 185-193.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.1712
Sanabria, E. A., Quiroga, L. B. & Martino, A. L. 2013. Seasonal Changes in the thermal tolerances of Odontophrynus occidentalis (Berg, 1896) (Anura: Cycloramphidae). Belgian Journal of Zoology, 143 (1), 23-29.
Suzuki, J., Kobayashi, S., Yoshida, N., Azuma, Y., Kobayashi-Ogata, N., Kartikasari, D. P., Y. & Iwata, S. 2020. Phylogenetic position of Nyctotherus teleacus isolated from a tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) and its electron microscopic features. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 82 (6), 699-703.
https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.20-0004
Turazzini, G. F., Taglioretti, M. L. & Gómez, R. O. 2016. First fossil record of the South American frog genus Odontophrynus Reinhardt and Lütken, 1862 (Anura, Neobatrachia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 36 (6), e1228657.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2017.1228657
Vaira, M., Akmentins, M. S., Attademo, M., Baldo, D., Barrasso, D., Barrionuevo, S., Basso, N., Blotto, B., Cairo, S., Cajade, R., Céspedez, J., Corbalán, V., Chilote, P., Duré, M., Falcione, C., Ferraro, D., Gutierrez, F. R., Ingaramo, M. R., Junges, C., Lajmanovich, R., Lescano, J. N., Marangoni, F., Martinazzo, L., Marti, R., Moreno, L., Natale, G. S., Perez Iglesias, J. M., Peltzer, P., Quiroga, L., Rosset, S., Sanabria, E., Sanchez, L., Schaefer, E., Úbeda, C. & Zaracho, V. 2012. Categorización del estado de conservación de los anfibios de la República Argentina. Cuadernos de Herpetología, 26 (Suppl. 1), 131-159.
Villegas Ojeda, A., Guagliardo, S. & Tanzola, D. 2020. New species of Protoopalina (Opalinida) and first record of Zelleriella hylaxena (Opalinida) in tadpoles of Boana pulchella (Anura, Hylidae) from Argentina. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 15 (4), 252-257.
Warner, T. T. 2004. Desert Meteorology. Cambridge University Press, New York.
