Lucot Morgan, Tellez Marisa, Viveros Diana
Crocodile Research Coalition, 744 Walker rd, Maya beach(, Stann Creek), (Belize).
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2020 Jul;21:100446. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2020.100446. Epub 2020 Aug 6.
Sirenians are parasitized by a number of nematodes and trematodes, most which appear to be host specific. Reports of parasitism in the West Indian Manatee, Trichechus manatus, exist for several regions within the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, but there is a lack of parasitic data existing for the manatee subspecies living in the coastal waters of Belize. Herein, we report the first published record of parasites found in a deceased adult male Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus, recovered in the Placencia Lagoon, Belize. A thorough necropsy was performed which led to the identification of one nematode species, Heterocheilus tunicatus, and 2 species of trematode, Chiorchis groscofit, and Pulmonicola cochleotrema. The abundance of parasites found here appears to be within healthy limits given previous studies. Although our results are limited, the data provides supplemental information that can assist in-country and regional monitoring efforts for an endangered species.
海牛被多种线虫和吸虫寄生，其中大多数似乎具有宿主特异性。关于西印度海牛（Trichechus manatus）在大西洋、墨西哥湾和加勒比海的几个区域的寄生情况已有报道，但生活在伯利兹沿海水域的海牛亚种缺乏寄生虫数据。在此，我们报告了在伯利兹普拉森西亚泻湖发现的一头死亡成年雄性安的列斯海牛（Trichechus manatus manatus）体内首次发表的寄生虫记录。进行了全面的尸检，结果鉴定出一种线虫物种——被膜异唇线虫（Heterocheilus tunicatus），以及两种吸虫物种——格氏氯吸虫（Chiorchis groscofit）和耳蜗肺吸虫（Pulmonicola cochleotrema）。根据先前的研究，这里发现的寄生虫数量似乎在健康范围内。尽管我们的结果有限，但这些数据提供了补充信息，有助于对濒危物种进行国内和区域监测。
