Abstract
Birds act as hosts for a variety of parasites, many of these are unreported. The literature provides scant information on the helminth fauna of Phimosus infuscatus. The presence of helminths were investigate in 28 birds from Pelotas, Capão do Leão, and Rio Grande in Rio Grande do Sul. The preparation and identification of helminths followed protocols. Prevalence (P%), mean intensity of infection (MII), and mean abundance (MA) were estimated. The following helminths were found: Hystrichis acanthocephalicus , Dioctophyme renale (larva), Porrocaecum heteropterum , Baruscapillaria sp., Aproctella carinii , Paradeletrocephalus minor, and Cyathostoma sp. (Nematoda); Echinostomatidae gen. sp., Tanaisia valida, and Athesmia sp. (Trematoda: Digenea) and Megalacanthus sp. (Cestoda). The most prevalent species were H. acanthocephalicus, P. heteropterum, Megalacanthus sp., and Echinostomatidae gen. sp. and Megalacanthus sp. had the highest MII and MA. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of H. acantocephalicus between female and male bird hosts. We report Echinostomatidae gen. sp., T. valida, Athesmia sp., Cyathostoma sp., A. carinii, P. minor, D. renale (larva), Baruscapillaria sp., and Megalacanthus sp. for the first time in P. infuscatus in Brazil.
Highlights
Wildlife birds act as hosts for a wide variety of parasites
We report Echinostomatidae gen. sp., T. valida, Athesmia sp., Cyathostoma sp., A. carinii, P. minor, D. renale, Baruscapillaria sp., and Megalacanthus sp. for the first time in P. infuscatus in Brazil
H. acanthocephalicus occurred in 89.28% of the birds, it had low levels of mean intensity of infection (MII) (3.87) and mean abundance (MA) (3.17)
Summary
Wildlife birds act as hosts for a wide variety of parasites. Phimosus infuscatus helminths assemblage in southern Brazil. The bare-faced ibis Phimosus infuscatus (Lichtenstein, 1823) (Pelecaniformes: Threskiornithidae) is widely distributed in South America including Guyana, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil (SICK, 2001). It inhabits shallow water areas such as flooded fields, wetlands, lakes, rice paddies, and urban environments (BELTON, 2003). There are reports of helminths parasitizing birds from the Threskiornithidae in different parts of the world. The helminth fauna of Phimosus infuscatus is little known (Table 1)
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