NEW PARASITE OCCURRENCES IN Tamandua tetradactyla (PILOSA: MYRMECOPHAGIDAE) IN THE NORTHEAST OF BRAZIL: A PALEOPARASITOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

Paleoparasitological studies have revealed parasite eggs in coprolites from humans and other animals, obtained in archaeological sites in the New and Old World. However, to date, the only parasite found in anteaters coprolites is Gigantorhynchus echinodiscus (Acanthocephala: Gigantorhynchidae). Here we present the results of paleoparasitological analysis of nine Tamandua tetradactyla coprolites, of layers dated from 8,870 and 3,190 years BP, collected in three archaeological sites: Toca dos Coqueiros, Toca da Passagem and Toca do Enoque, rock shelters located in the southeast of the Piaui state, Brazil. Each coprolite was rehydrated in 0.5% trisodium phosphate solution, homogenized with a glass rod for spontaneous sedimentation. A minimum of 20 slides of each sample was examined using light microscopy. Acanthocephalan eggs of three morphotypes were found: G. echinodiscus, Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus and Oligacanthorhynchus sp.. Three morphotypes of Nematoda eggs and oocysts of cf. Entamoeba sp. were also found. The finding of G. echinodiscus , a species commonly reported in anteaters, reinforces the previous data and highlights the specificity and antiquity of this host-parasite interaction. This is the first finding of Oligacanthorhynchidae and Aspidoderidae parasites in T. tetradactyla. These findings evidence the need for more studies of the parasitic fauna of T. tetradactyla from both ancient and current times aiming to broaden the knowledge about the parasite diversity of this host and the evolutionary processes that led to these interactions.