Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Life Sciences West, Stillwater, OK74078, USA.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996, USA.
J Helminthol. 2021 Nov 22;95:e67. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X21000614.
We present a taxonomic, spatial, and thematic overview of the current state of knowledge on helminth parasites of Mexican amphibians. Sixty-six host species have been studied so far, representing 17.5% of the amphibian species distributed in Mexico. A total of 139 nominal species of helminths - 68 platyhelminths, 62 nematodes, three acanthocephalans, three annelids (hirudineans), and three arthropods (pentastomids) - have been recorded parasitizing these hosts. Most taxa found in larval stages have not been identified at the species level. The gastrointestinal nematode Aplectana itzocanensis exhibits the broadest host range, while the bladder fluke Gorgoderina attenuata and A. itzocanensis show the widest geographic distribution. Our analysis of helminthological studies evidenced gaps and biases on research efforts that have been devoted to relatively few host species, regions, and approaches. Most helminthological records come from two species, the cane toad Rhinella marina and the Montezuma's frog Lithobates montezumae, and most studies have focused on describing the helminth fauna of a host species in a particular location or on the description of new helminth species. The highest proportion of records corresponds to the Veracruzan biogeographic province, and helminth richness is significantly correlated with host richness and with total amphibian richness by biogeographic province. Only three provinces (Yucatan Peninsula, Pacific Lowlands, and Baja Californian) have positive, yet still low helminth species discovery effort. Based on our findings, we recommend pursuing research approaches unexplored in Mexico and we provide guidelines to improve research on helminths parasitizing amphibians.
我们对墨西哥两栖动物寄生虫的分类学、空间和主题知识现状进行了综述。迄今为止，已有 66 种宿主物种被研究，占分布在墨西哥的两栖动物物种的 17.5%。总共记录了 139 种名义上的寄生虫 - 68 种扁形动物，62 种线虫，3 种棘头动物，3 种环节动物（蛭类）和 3 种节肢动物（五口虫） - 寄生在这些宿主中。在幼虫阶段发现的大多数分类群尚未在种水平上得到鉴定。胃肠道线虫 Aplectana itzocanensis 表现出最广泛的宿主范围，而膀胱吸虫 Gorgoderina attenuata 和 A. itzocanensis 表现出最广泛的地理分布。我们对寄生虫学研究的分析表明，研究工作在相对较少的宿主物种、地区和方法上存在差距和偏见。大多数寄生虫学记录来自两种物种，甘蔗蟾蜍 Rhinella marina 和蒙特祖玛蛙 Lithobates montezumae，大多数研究都集中于在特定地点描述宿主物种的寄生虫群或描述新的寄生虫物种。记录的最高比例对应于 Veracruzan 生物地理省，寄生虫丰富度与宿主丰富度以及按生物地理省划分的总两栖动物丰富度呈显著正相关。只有三个省份（尤卡坦半岛、太平洋低地和下加利福尼亚）的寄生虫物种发现工作呈积极但仍然很低。基于我们的发现，我们建议探索墨西哥尚未探索的研究方法，并提供指导方针，以改进对寄生在两栖动物上的寄生虫的研究。
