Parasites of two lizard species, Anolis punctatus and Anolis transversalis (Squamata: Polychrotidae) from Brazil and Ecuador

Abstract

Parasites of two lizard species, Anolis punctatus and Anolis transversalis (Squamata: Polychrotidae) from Brazil and Ecuador Stephen R. Goldberg 1 , Charles R. Bursey 2 , Laurie J. Vitt 3 Anolis punctatus and Anolis transversalis , ar- boreal anoles, are considered to be the “crown giants” among Amazonian anoles (Vitt et al., 2003a). Crown giants are anoles with body sizes substantially larger than those of congeners occurring on tree trunks and on the ground (Williams, 1972). Although both species appear to forage in the crown, A. punctatus is most eas- ily observed at the crown-trunk interface. Morphologically, A. punctatus fits the bau- plan of typical crown giant anoles (Irschick et al., 1997); A. transversalis is similar, but not used in the analysis. Individuals of these two species are about the same size, A. transver- salis slightly smaller and restricted to undis- turbed primary forest more so than A. puncta- tus , but both use similar microhabitats and have similar diets, volumetrically, A. punctatus ate mostly ants and orthopterans, A. transversalis ate mostly roaches, beetles, and ants (Vitt et al., 2003a). Both species occur in the Amazonian regions of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (Avila-Pires, 1995). Helminths of A. punctatus from Peru have been reported (Bursey et al., 2005), but to our knowledge, helminth parasites of A. transversalis are unknown. The purpose of this paper is to report helminths of A. punctatus 1 - Whittier College, Department of Biology, Whittier, California 90608, USA e-mail: sgoldberg@whittier.edu 2 - Pennsylvania State University, Shenango Campus, De- partment of Biology, Sharon, Pennsylvania 16146, USA 3 - Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Zoology Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73072, USA and A. transversalis and examine these data in relation to the ecology of the lizard species. Twenty-one Anolis punctatus (mean snout-vent length [ SVL ] = 70 . 4 ± 6 . 6 mm, range: 57-83 mm) and 17 Anolis transversalis (SVL = 69 . 0 ± 11 . 6 mm, range: 48-83 mm) were borrowed from the herpetology collection of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (OMNH) and examined for helminths. These anoles had previously been utilized in an ecological study during which stomachs were removed to determine diet (Vitt et al., 2003a). Thus stom- achs were not available for this study. Collection locali- ties are as follows: A. punctatus , 11 (OMNH 37392-37402), Rondonia State, Brazil, 1998; eight (OMNH 37167-37173, 37676), Amazonas State, Brazil, 1997 (n = 7) and 1999 (n = 1); two (OMNH 40412-40413), Sucumbios Province, Ecuador, 1993, 1994; A. transversalis , five (OMNH 37029- 37033), Acre State, Brazil, 1996; eight (OMNH 37045, 37403-37410), Rondonia State, Brazil, 1998; four (OMNH 37677-37680), Amazonas State, Brazil, 1998. These anoles had originally been fixed in 10% formalin and stored in 70% ethanol. The small intestine, large intestine and lungs were removed and searched for helminths using a dissecting mi- croscope. The coelom was also searched. Each nematode was cleared in glycerol on a glass slide and identified with a light microscope. Cestodes were stained with hematoxylin, mounted in Canada balsam and examined as a whole mount. Helminth species, number of helminths, prevalence (in- fected lizards/total lizards examined × 100), mean intensity (mean number helminths per infected lizard) and range are found in table 1. In the text the means are followed by ± one SD. Helminths were deposited in the United States Na- tional Parasite Collection (USNPC), Beltsville, Maryland: Anolis punctatus-Cyrtosomum longicaudatum (97009), Os- waldocruzia vitti (97012, 97015, 97017), Oswaldofilaria brevicaudata (97011), Strongyluris oscari (97014, 97016, 97019), Falcaustra sp. (97010), Rhabdias sp. (97013, 97018); Anolis transversalis-Mesocestoides sp. (97022), Cyrtosomum longicaudatum (97023); Strongyluris oscari (97020, 97021, 97024). Anolis punctatus harbored six species of helminths; A. transversalis three (table 1). Of these, only two species, Cyrtosomum longicau- datum (in large intestines), and Strongyluris os- cari (in large and small intestines), occurred in both host species. Cyrtosomum longicaudatum © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006. Amphibia-Reptilia 27 (2006): 575-579 Also available online - www.brill.nl/amre