On 27 March 2011, 20 specimens of Leptodactylus macrosternum were collected in the municipality
of Aiuaba at the Ecological Station of Aiuaba, state of Ceará, Brazil. Of the 20 frogs
examined, four were infected with lung nematodes. Five specimens of Rhabdias sp. are found.
To our knowledge, L. macrosternum is a new host for Rhabdias sp.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

Alves Teles, Diêgo

Araujo Filho,  J. A.

Pinto, Cícero Leonardo M.

Teixeira, Adonias A. M.

Cuadernos de Herpetología

English

El Servicio de Difusión de la Creación Intelectual

Nota
117
Author for correspondence: diegoateles@gmail.com
First report of Rhabdias sp. infecting Leptodactylus 
macrosternum from the Caatinga domain, Neotropical region
Diêgo Alves Teles¹, Cícero Leonardo de Morais Pinto², Adonias Aphoena Martins Teixeira¹, João 
Antonio de Araujo Filho¹
¹ Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Laboratório/Coleção de Herpetologia, 
Universidade Federal da Paraíba – UFPB , Cidade Universitária, Campus I, CEP 58059-900, João Pessoa, 
Paraíba, Brazil.
² Laboratorio de Zoologia/Parasitologia, Universidade Regional do Cariri –URCA, Campus Pimenta, CEP 
63100-000, Crato, Ceara, Brazil.
Cuad. herpetol. 32(2): 117-118(2018)
Leptodactylus macrosternum Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926, 
occurs in the northeast of Brazil (Frost, 2018). It is a 
medium-sized frog which features nocturnal activity 
and diet consisting mainly arthropods (Teles et al., 
2018), included consumption of crustaceans (Teles 
et al., 2014.). Here, we report the nematode infec-
tion in the respiratory tracts of L. macrosternum in 
an area of Caatinga in Aiuaba, Ceará, northeastern 
Brazil. Twenty specimens of L. macrosternum (15 
males; mean SVL= 63.67 ± 7.71 mm; range = 84. 
13 – 52. 43 mm; five females; mean SVL= 72.97 ± 
10.40 mm; range 87.28 – 58.99 mm) were collected 
in the municipality of Aiuaba at the Ecological Sta-
tion of Aiuaba, Brazil (6.573476°S; 40.123564°W, 
datum SAD69; 466 m a.s.l.), on 27 March 2011 and 
examined for endoparasites. Each specimen was dis-
sected by a longitudinal incision and respiratory and 
digestive tracts were removed and analyzed sepa-
rately (stomach, small intestine and large intestine) 
and body cavity. Helminths were preserved in 70% 
alcohol and subsequently mounted on temporary 
slides using Hoyer’s medium, and identified beneath 
a light microscope. Of the 20 frogs examined, four 
were infected with lung nematodes. The nematodes 
were identified (according to Vicente et al. 1990 
and Kuzmin et al. 2015) as: Rhabdias sp. (Fig. 1), 
and later deposited in the parasitological collection 
of the Universidade Regional do Cariri (URCA-P: 
518). The prevalence and intensity of infection were 
calculated according to Bush et al. (1997). Overall 
prevalence was 20% (4/20) and the intensity of in-
fection was 1.25. The prevalence in males was 20% 
(3/15) and intensity of infection 1.33. On the other 
hand, prevalence in females was 20% (1/5) and in-
tensity of infection 1. The nematodes genus Rhabdias 
Stiles & Hassal, 1905 can be found infecting lungs 
of anuran amphibians and less commonly in lizards, 
snakes and salamanders (Kuzmin et al., 2016; Teles 
et al., 2014). In South America, there are 19 species 
of Rhabdias reported to affect the respiratory tract 
of amphibians (Kuzmin et al., 2016; Campião et al., 
Recibida:  2 7  M a r z o  2 0 1 8
Revisada:  1 6  M a y o  2 0 1 8
Aceptada:  2 9  M a y o  2 0 1 8
Editor  Asociado:  C.  B or te iro
doi:  10.31017/CdH.2018.(2018-09)
ABSTRACT
On 27 March 2011, 20 specimens of Leptodactylus macrosternum were collected in the mu-
nicipality of Aiuaba at the Ecological Station of Aiuaba, state of Ceará, Brazil. Of the 20 frogs 
examined, four were infected with lung nematodes. Five specimens of Rhabdias sp. are found. 
To our knowledge, L. macrosternum is a new host for Rhabdias sp.
Key Words: Parasitism; Semi-arid region; Nematodes.
Figure 1. Specimen of Rhabdias sp. found in the lungs of Lep-
todactylus macrosternum.
118
D. Teles et al.  - First report of Rhabdias sp. 
2014). There are records of Rhabdias sp. infections 
in Bufonidae, Brachycephalidae, Hylidae, and Lep-
todactylidae in Argentina and Brazil (Campião et 
al., 2014) and most recently in Proceratophrys aridus 
(Odontophrynidae), Caatinga domain, in Brazil 
(Teles et al., 2017). There are still few studies on 
the effects of infections caused by nematodes of the 
genus Rhabdias on amphibians hosts. However, in an 
experimental study conducted by Goater and Ward 
(1992) they observed that in juvenile anurans of the 
Bufo bufo species they had their body growth and 
their survival reduced due to the infection caused 
by Rhabdias bufonis. The host specimens examined 
did not exhibit evident malformations or behavioral 
changes. To our knowledge, L. macrosternum is a 
new host for Rhabdias sp.
Acknowledgements
We thank CNPq for providing a schorlaship to DAT 
and JAAF and CAPES for the scholarship granted 
to AAMT. ICMBio granted permission to collect 
under license System Authorization and Information 
on Biodiversity, no. 27542-2, process no. 96683918.
Literature cited
Bush, A. O.; Lafferty, K.D.; Lotz, J.M. & Shostak, A.W. 1997. 
Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et 
al. revisited. Journal of Parasitology 83: 575-583.
Campião, K.M.; Morais, D.H.; Dias, O.T.; Aguiar, A.; Toledo, 
G.M.; Tavares, L.E.R. & Silva, J.R. 2014. Checklist of 
Helminth parasites of Amphibians from South America. 
Zootaxa 3843: 001-093.
Frost, D.R. 2018 Amphibian Species of the World: an Online 
Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural 
History, New York, USA. Avaliable at: <http://research.
amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/
Leptodactylus macrosternum>. Last acessed: 20 may 2018.
Goater, G.P. & Ward, P.I. 1992. Negative effects of Rhabdias 
bufonis (Nematoda) on the growth and survival of toads 
(Bufo bufo). Oecologia 89: 161-165.
Kuzmin, Y.; du Preez, L.H. & Junker, K. 2015. Some nematodes 
of the genus Rhabdias Stiles et Hassall, 1905 (Nematoda: 
Rhabdiasidae) parasitising amphibians in French Guiana. 
Folia Parasitologica 62: 031.
Kuzmin Y.; Melo F. T. V.; Silva Filho H. F. & Santos J. N.   
2016. Two new species of Rhabdias Stiles et Hassall, 1905 
(Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) from anuran amphibians in Para, 
Brazil. Folia Parasitologica 63: 015.
Teles, D.A.; Teixeira, A.P.M.; Araujo Filho, J.A.; Cabral, 
M.E.S.; Sales, R.M.A. & Dias, D.Q. 2014. Leptodactylus 
macrosternum. Diet. Herpetological Review 45: 304.
Teles, D.A.; Cabral, M.E.S.; Araujo-Filho, J.A.; Dias, D.Q.; Ávila, 
R.W.& Almeida, W.O. 2014. Helminths of Leptodactylus 
vastus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in area of  Caatinga, Brazil. 
Herpetology Notes 7: 355-356.
Teles, D.A.; Rodrigues, J.K.; Teixeira, A.A.M., Araujo-
Filho, J.A.; Sousa, J.G.G. & Ribeiro, S.C. 2018. Diet of 
Leptodactylus macrosternum (Miranda-Ribeiro 1926) 
(Anura: Leptodactylidae) in the Caatinga domain, 
Northeastern Brazil, Neotropical Region. Herpetology Notes 
11: 223-226.
Teles, D.A.; Brito, S.V.; Araujo Filho, J.A., Teixeira, A.A.M., 
Ribeiro, S.C., Mesquita, D.O. & Almeida, W.O. 2017. 
Nematode parasites of Proceratophrys aridus (Anura: 
Odontophrynidae), an endemic frog of the Caatinga domain 
of the Neotropical Region in Brazil. Herpetology Notes 10: 
525-527.
Vicente, J.J., Rodrigues, H.O., Gomes, D.C. & Pinto, R.M. 1990. 
Nematóides do Brasil. Parte II: Nematóides de anfíbios. 
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 7: 549-626.
© 2018 por los autores, licencia otorgada a la Asociación Herpetológica Argentina. 
Este artículo es de acceso abierto y distribuido bajo los términos y condiciones de 
una licencia Atribución-No Comercial 2.5 Argentina de Creative Commons. Para ver 
una copia de esta licencia, visite http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ar/


First report of Rhabdias sp. infecting <i>Leptodactylus macrosternum</i> from the Caatinga domain, Neotropical region

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Nota117Author for correspondence: diegoateles@gmail.comFirst report of Rhabdias sp. infecting Leptodactylus macrosternum from the Caatinga domain, Neotropical regionDiêgo Alves Teles¹, Cícero Leonardo de Morais Pinto², Adonias Aphoena Martins Teixeira¹, João Antonio de Araujo Filho¹¹ Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Laboratório/Coleção de Herpetologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba – UFPB , Cidade Universitária, Campus I, CEP 58059-900, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.² Laboratorio de Zoologia/Parasitologia, Universidade Regional do Cariri –URCA, Campus Pimenta, CEP 63100-000, Crato, Ceara, Brazil.Cuad. herpetol. 32(2): 117-118(2018)Leptodactylus macrosternum Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926, occurs in the northeast of Brazil (Frost, 2018). It is a medium-sized frog which features nocturnal activity and diet consisting mainly arthropods (Teles et al., 2018), included consumption of crustaceans (Teles et al., 2014.). Here, we report the nematode infec-tion in the respiratory tracts of L. macrosternum in an area of Caatinga in Aiuaba, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. Twenty specimens of L. macrosternum (15 males; mean SVL= 63.67 ± 7.71 mm; range = 84. 13 – 52. 43 mm; five females; mean SVL= 72.97 ± 10.40 mm; range 87.28 – 58.99 mm) were collected in the municipality of Aiuaba at the Ecological Sta-tion of Aiuaba, Brazil (6.573476°S; 40.123564°W, datum SAD69; 466 m a.s.l.), on 27 March 2011 and examined for endoparasites. Each specimen was dis-sected by a longitudinal incision and respiratory and digestive tracts were removed and analyzed sepa-rately (stomach, small intestine and large intestine) and body cavity. Helminths were preserved in 70% alcohol and subsequently mounted on temporary slides using Hoyer’s medium, and identified beneath a light microscope. Of the 20 frogs examined, four were infected with lung nematodes. The nematodes were identified (according to Vicente et al. 1990 and Kuzmin et al. 2015) as: Rhabdias sp. (Fig. 1), and later deposited in the parasitological collection of the Universidade Regional do Cariri (URCA-P: 518). The prevalence and intensity of infection were calculated according to Bush et al. (1997). Overall prevalence was 20% (4/20) and the intensity of in-fection was 1.25. The prevalence in males was 20% (3/15) and intensity of infection 1.33. On the other hand, prevalence in females was 20% (1/5) and in-tensity of infection 1. The nematodes genus Rhabdias Stiles & Hassal, 1905 can be found infecting lungs of anuran amphibians and less commonly in lizards, snakes and salamanders (Kuzmin et al., 2016; Teles et al., 2014). In South America, there are 19 species of Rhabdias reported to affect the respiratory tract of amphibians (Kuzmin et al., 2016; Campião et al., Recibida:  2 7  M a r z o  2 0 1 8Revisada:  1 6  M a y o  2 0 1 8Aceptada:  2 9  M a y o  2 0 1 8Editor  Asociado:  C.  B or te irodoi:  10.31017/CdH.2018.(2018-09)ABSTRACTOn 27 March 2011, 20 specimens of Leptodactylus macrosternum were collected in the mu-nicipality of Aiuaba at the Ecological Station of Aiuaba, state of Ceará, Brazil. Of the 20 frogs examined, four were infected with lung nematodes. Five specimens of Rhabdias sp. are found. To our knowledge, L. macrosternum is a new host for Rhabdias sp.Key Words: Parasitism; Semi-arid region; Nematodes.Figure 1. Specimen of Rhabdias sp. found in the lungs of Lep-todactylus macrosternum.118D. Teles et al.  - First report of Rhabdias sp. 2014). There are records of Rhabdias sp. infections in Bufonidae, Brachycephalidae, Hylidae, and Lep-todactylidae in Argentina and Brazil (Campião et al., 2014) and most recently in Proceratophrys aridus (Odontophrynidae), Caatinga domain, in Brazil (Teles et al., 2017). There are still few studies on the effects of infections caused by nematodes of the genus Rhabdias on amphibians hosts. However, in an experimental study conducted by Goater and Ward (1992) they observed that in juvenile anurans of the Bufo bufo species they had their body growth and their survival reduced due to the infection caused by Rhabdias bufonis. The host specimens examined did not exhibit evident malformations or behavioral changes. To our knowledge, L. macrosternum is a new host for Rhabdias sp.AcknowledgementsWe thank CNPq for providing a schorlaship to DAT and JAAF and CAPES for the scholarship granted to AAMT. ICMBio granted permission to collect under license System Authorization and Information on Biodiversity, no. 27542-2, process no. 96683918.Literature citedBush, A. O.; Lafferty, K.D.; Lotz, J.M. & Shostak, A.W. 1997. Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. Journal of Parasitology 83: 575-583.Campião, K.M.; Morais, D.H.; Dias, O.T.; Aguiar, A.; Toledo, G.M.; Tavares, L.E.R. & Silva, J.R. 2014. Checklist of Helminth parasites of Amphibians from South America. Zootaxa 3843: 001-093.Frost, D.R. 2018 Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Avaliable at: <http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Leptodactylus macrosternum>. Last acessed: 20 may 2018.Goater, G.P. & Ward, P.I. 1992. Negative effects of Rhabdias bufonis (Nematoda) on the growth and survival of toads (Bufo bufo). Oecologia 89: 161-165.Kuzmin, Y.; du Preez, L.H. & Junker, K. 2015. Some nematodes of the genus Rhabdias Stiles et Hassall, 1905 (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) parasitising amphibians in French Guiana. Folia Parasitologica 62: 031.Kuzmin Y.; Melo F. T. V.; Silva Filho H. F. & Santos J. N.   2016. Two new species of Rhabdias Stiles et Hassall, 1905 (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) from anuran amphibians in Para, Brazil. Folia Parasitologica 63: 015.Teles, D.A.; Teixeira, A.P.M.; Araujo Filho, J.A.; Cabral, M.E.S.; Sales, R.M.A. & Dias, D.Q. 2014. Leptodactylus macrosternum. Diet. Herpetological Review 45: 304.Teles, D.A.; Cabral, M.E.S.; Araujo-Filho, J.A.; Dias, D.Q.; Ávila, R.W.& Almeida, W.O. 2014. Helminths of Leptodactylus vastus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in area of  Caatinga, Brazil. Herpetology Notes 7: 355-356.Teles, D.A.; Rodrigues, J.K.; Teixeira, A.A.M., Araujo-Filho, J.A.; Sousa, J.G.G. & Ribeiro, S.C. 2018. Diet of Leptodactylus macrosternum (Miranda-Ribeiro 1926) (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in the Caatinga domain, Northeastern Brazil, Neotropical Region. Herpetology Notes 11: 223-226.Teles, D.A.; Brito, S.V.; Araujo Filho, J.A., Teixeira, A.A.M., Ribeiro, S.C., Mesquita, D.O. & Almeida, W.O. 2017. Nematode parasites of Proceratophrys aridus (Anura: Odontophrynidae), an endemic frog of the Caatinga domain of the Neotropical Region in Brazil. Herpetology Notes 10: 525-527.Vicente, J.J., Rodrigues, H.O., Gomes, D.C. & Pinto, R.M. 1990. Nematóides do Brasil. Parte II: Nematóides de anfíbios. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 7: 549-626.© 2018 por los autores, licencia otorgada a la Asociación Herpetológica Argentina. Este artículo es de acceso abierto y distribuido bajo los términos y condiciones de una licencia Atribución-No Comercial 2.5 Argentina de Creative Commons. Para ver una copia de esta licencia, visite http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ar/

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First report of Rhabdias sp. infecting <i>Leptodactylus macrosternum</i> from the Caatinga domain, Neotropical region

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