Trypanosoma spp. (Protozoa: Kinetoplastida) in Hylidae (Anura) from eastern North America, with notes on their distributions and prevalences

Abstract

Using the haematocrit centrifuge technique, four species of trypanosomes were detected in the blood of 46 of 275 hylids (Pseudacris triserita, Hyla crucifer, Hyla versicolor, Hyla chrysocelis, and Hyla avivoca) from eastern North America. Morphological identification of three (Trypanosoma andersoni, Trypanosoma grylli, and Trypanosoma pipientis) of the four species was confirmed by inoculations into laboratory-raised frogs. Trypanosoma andersoni and T. grylli were detected in H. versicolor, H. avivoca from Ohio, and H. chrysocelis from South Carolina. The latter two anurans represent new host records and localities for the two trypanosomes. Additional new host locations for T. andersoni and T. grylli in the United States are Michigan, West Virginia, and South Carolina. Trypanosoma pipientis was recorded from P. triserita, H. crucifer, and H. versicolor in Ontario; this extends the host range for the trypanosome from the Ranidae to the Hylidae. Trypanosoma ranarum, a common parasite of Rana spp., was found in H. versicolor from Ontario and Quebec. Since no cross inoculation was conducted, the identification of T. ranarum in the hylid is tentative.