Sarcophagid myiasis in the bufonid rhinella alata in panama

Abstract

Rhinella alata is a small terrestrial bufonid that occurs in Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. Between January 2014 and October 2015, we inspected 339 R. alata from Panama and report myiasis in eight of these toads. All infested toads were male and presented with mobile dark fly larvae visible beneath the ventral skin. At necropsy, we identified the larvae as belonging to the family Sarcophagidae (flesh flies). Flesh flies have been variously considered as predators, parasitoids, and parasites of anurans. There are at least four species of flesh flies that infect adult amphibians in the Neotropics, with the most common and widespread being Lepidodexia bufonivora. Myiasis has only rarely been reported in Panamanian anurans. Anuran cases of sarcophagid myiasis are usually fatal and we suspect myiasis as the cause of death for the R. alata that died in the current study.