Gastrointestinal helminths of the Caspian turtle, Mauremys caspica (Testudines), from Northern Iran

The Caspian turtle (Mauremys caspica) is a semi-aquatic and adaptable reptile. To date, there are no reports on the parasites of this turtle in Iran. Hence, the current survey was designed to prepare a list of the gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the Caspian turtle in North Iran. A total of 34 road-killed individuals (14 males and 20 females) were collected between July 2011 and October 2012 from the Mazandaran province, Iran. All parts of gastrointestinal were parasitologically scrutinized and collected specimens were fixed and preserved in 70 % ethanol. Half of the examined Caspian turtles (17) were infected with at least one parasitic helminth. The list of helminths includes three nematodes: Serpinema microcephalum (Camallanidae), Falcaustra armenica (Kathlaniidae), Oxyuridae sp., and one digenean: Telorchis sp. (Telorchiidae). This is the first report of the gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the Caspian turtle in Iran and all helminth species are reported for the first time in Iran.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Youssefi, Mohammad Reza, Mousapour, Ali autor/a, Nikzad, Reza autor/a, González Solís, David Doctor autor/a 2045, Halajian, Ali autor/a, Rahimi, Mohammad Taghi autor/a
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:Mauremys caspica, Tortugas, Helmintos,
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12639-014-0446-2#page-1
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