Abstract

URGILES-MERCHAN, Miguel; LAGLA-CHIMBA, Gabriela; MENA-ORBE, F. Rafael  and  YANEZ-MUNOZ, Mario H.. Parasitism of Porocephalus (Penstastomida: Porocephalidae) on Bothrops asper (Viperidae) in Ecuador. Biota colombiana [online]. 2024, vol.25, e1150.  Epub Dec 27, 2023. ISSN 0124-5376.  https://doi.org/10.21068/2539200x.1150.

We report the presence of Pentastomidae of the genus Porocephalus in specimens of Bothrops asper from the Herpetological collection of the National Institute of Biodiversity in Ecuador. Twenty-two individuals were processed and parasites were found in the respiratory tract and lungs of two specimens. A total of eight specimens of Porocephalus were identified. The parasites examined were identified as Porocephalus sp., due to the characteristics of their inflated head, ringed body, and keyhole-shaped mouth, among others. A specific species could not be assigned due to overlapping body measurements. Although three species of Porocephalus have been reported in Latin America parasitizing Bothrops species, to date it had not been recorded in Ecuador.

Keywords : endoparasites; herpetological collections; Reptilia; South America.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )