Endoparasites in six anuran species from a changing rainforest biotope in Edo State, Southern Nigeria

Abstract

The endoparasitic infections of anurans from Evbuabogun, a peri-urban community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, southern Nigeria was investigated. The six anuran species encountered and the parasite prevalence recorded in them were Hoplobatrachus occipitalis (56.5%), Leptopelis spiritusnoctis (50%), Ptychadena oxyrhynchus (76.7%), P. pumilio (100%), Sclerophrys maculata (90.9%) and S. regularis (100%). Overall parasite prevalence and mean intensity were 75.6% and 52.4, respectively. The endoparasites recovered included pentastomids (Raillietiella sp.), acanthocephalan cystacanth, cestodes (Cylindrotaenia jaegerskioeldi and Nematotaenoides sp.), digeneans (Metahaematoloechus micrurus and Mesocoelium monodi) and nematodes (Camallanus dimitrovi, Chabaudus leberrei, Cosmocerca commutata, C. ornata, Oswaldocruzia hoepplii, Rhabdias africanus, Amplicaecum sp., Aplectana sp., Physaloptera sp., Ophidascaris sp. larva and an unidentified oxyurid nematode). The few anuran species recorded attests to the degraded nature of the study area. We presume that the high parasite prevalence in the anurans examined was due to intense exposure to parasite larvae in the few and crowded aggregation/breeding sites in the locality. Furthermore, exposure to herbicides used to suppress weeds in nearby farms, (which contaminate breeding ponds through run-offs), may have suppressed the immunity of the frogs, thus rendering them more susceptible to parasitic infections. Infections of P. pumilio with Raillietiella sp. and Nematotaenoides sp. are new