Abstract

A review and discussion of the results obtained after more than 40 years of research on parasites of insular saurian reptiles in some areas of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic has been carried out. Twenty-seven species and subspecies belonging to seven different genera of lizards were analysed, revealing the existence of diverse helminth communities, related to different biotic and abiotic characteristics of the hosts and habitats. The biogeographical and evolutionary particularities of the endemic parasites found are detailed and commented, as well as the peculiarities of the helminth fauna of the hosts in relation to their type of feeding or their age and size. The capacity and opportunity of saurian hosts in the dispersal of parasite species and the importance of parasites as bioindicators are also analysed.

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