Helminths of the Eurasian marsh frog, Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Anura: Ranidae), from the Shiraz region, southwestern Iran

Abstract

Fourty seven specimens of Pelophylax ridibundus were collected in the vicinity of Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran in 1972. Fourteen helminth species were found, eight digeneans (Diplodiscus subclavatus, Halipegus alhaussaini, Haematoloechus similis, Codonocephalus urniger, and four species of metacercariae) and 6 nematodes (Cosmocerca ornata, Rhabdias bufonis, Abbreviata sp., Eustrongylides sp., Onchocercidae gen. sp. and one species of larval nematodes). Of these, only six are adults, while 8 are in their larval stage. The most prevalent helminths were the metacercariae of Codonocephalus urniger (61.7%) and the larvae Abbreviata sp. (55.32%). The adults with the highest prevalence are the digenean Halipegus alhaussaini, and the nematode Cosmocerca ornata (34% in both cases).