Abstract
Helminth parasites of vertebrates have been studied in Costa Rica for more than 50 years. Survey work on this group of parasites is far from complete. We assembled a database with all the records of helminth parasites of wild and domestic vertebrates in Costa Rica. Information was obtained from different sources such as literature search (all published accounts) and parasite collections. Here we present a checklist with a parasite-host list as well as a host-parasite list. Up to now, 303 species have been recorded, including 81 species of digeneans, 23 monogeneans, 63 cestodes, 12 acanthocephalans, and 124 nematodes. In total, 108 species of vertebrates have been studied for helminths in Costa Rica (31 species of fishes, 7 amphibians, 14 reptiles, 20 birds, and 36 mammals). This represents only 3.8% of the vertebrate fauna of Costa Rica since about 2,855 species of vertebrates occur in the country. Interestingly, 58 species (19.1 %) were recorded as new species from Costa Rica and most of them are endemic to particular regions. Considering the valuable information that parasites provide because it is synergistic with all the information about the natural history of the hosts, helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica should be considered within any initiatives to accomplish the national inventory of biological resources. Starting with this compilation work, the Colección de Helmintos de Costa Rica (CHCR), hosted at the Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, has re-emerged and it is our hope that it will have the standards of quality to assure that it will become the national depository of helminths in the country.
Highlights
Costa Rica possesses a strong tradition in the study of parasites of domestic and wildlife vertebrates
Starting with this compilation work, the Colección de Helmintos de Costa Rica (CHCR), hosted at the Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, has re-emerged and it is our hope that it will have the standards of quality to assure that it will become the national depository of helminths in the country
The objective of this paper is two-fold, to update all the available information about helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica, and to set the basis for the re-establishment of the Colección Helmintológica de la Facultad de Microbiología as the Colección de Helmintos de Costa Rica which should have the status of National Collection, and will become the depository of the helminth parasites of vertebrates and invertebrates in the near future, calling the attention to all national and foreign parasitologists, that some of the specimens collected in the country, and their published accounts should be deposited in this re-emerged collection
Summary
Costa Rica possesses a strong tradition in the study of parasites of domestic and wildlife vertebrates. Of all the helminth specimens collected from Costa Rican hosts, only a few were saved in the collection of the Facultad de Microbiología, University of Costa Rica and most of them have been deposited in foreign parasite collections, i.e. the Colección Nacional de Helmintos, Mexico City, Mexico, the U.S National Parasite Collection, Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A., and in the Harold W. The objective of this paper is two-fold, to update all the available information about helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica, and to set the basis for the re-establishment of the Colección Helmintológica de la Facultad de Microbiología as the Colección de Helmintos de Costa Rica which should have the status of National Collection, and will become the depository of the helminth parasites of vertebrates and invertebrates in the near future, calling the attention to all national and foreign parasitologists, that some of the specimens collected in the country, and their published accounts should be deposited in this re-emerged collection
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
