Metazoan parasites of cetaceans off the northeastern coast of Brazil.
This study represents the first survey of the parasitic fauna of cetaceans off the northeastern coast of Brazil. Parasites were collected from 82 animals rescued from the states of Ceará to Bahia, including the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. A total of 14 species of cetaceans were evaluated: Sotalia guianensis, Stenella sp., Stenella clymene, Stenella longirostris, Stenella coeruleoalba, Stenella frontalis, Megaptera novaeangliae, Peponocephala electra, Steno bredanensis, Kogia breviceps, Kogia sima, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Tursiops truncatus, Physeter macrocephalus and Lagenodelphis hosei. The parasites were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol or alcohol-formalin-acetic acid solution (AFA), clarified in phenol and mounted on slides for morphological identification. In total, 11 species and 8 genera of endo- and ectoparasites were identified: Halocercus brasiliensis, Halocercus kleinenbergi, Stenurus globicephalae, Halocercus sp., Anisakis sp., Crassicauda sp. (Nematoda), Phyllobothrium delphini, Monorygma grimaldii, Scolex pleuronectis, Strobicephalus triangularis, Tetrabothrius forsteri, Tetrabothrius sp., Trigonocotyle sp., Diphyllobothrium sp. (Cestoda), Campula sp. (Trematoda), Bolbosoma sp. (Acanthocephala), Cyamus boopis, Syncyamus pseudorcae and Xenobalanus globicipitis (Crustacea). The identification of some species represented novel records for the country and increased the occurrence of some parasites to new hosts. The use of standardized methodologies for collecting and evaluating a larger number of animals is essential for a better understanding of host-parasite relationships in cetaceans and their use as biological indicators in the region.
Carvalho
Vitor Luz
VL
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Faculdade de Veterinaria, Av. Paranjana, 1700, Campus do Itaperi, Fortaleza, Ceará CEP 60740-913, Brazil.
Bevilaqua
Claudia Maria Leal
CM
Iñiguez
Alena Mayo
AM
Mathews-Cascon
Helena
H
Ribeiro
Felipe Bezerra
FB
Pessoa
Lourdes Marina Bezerra
LM
de Meirelles
Ana Carolina Oliveira
AC
Borges
João Carlos Gomes
JC
Marigo
Juliana
J
Soares
Laiza
L
de Lima Silva
Flávio José
FJ
D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002589:Cestoda; D002591:Cetacea; D003445:Crustacea; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D009348:Nematoda; D014200:Trematoda