Helminth fauna of Rhinella fernandezae (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Rio Grande do Sul coastland, Brazil: analysis of the parasite community.

Ninety specimens of Rhinella fernandezae , collected in Imbé, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from August 2006 to April 2007, were examined for presence of helminth parasites; all were infected by at least 1 species. Thirteen species of parasites were found: 4 digeneans, 2 cestodes, 2 acanthocephalans, and 5 nematodes. Rhinella fernandezae represents a new host record, as well as for Gorgoderina festoni , Cylindrotaenia americana , Acanthocephalus lutzi , Aplectana meridionalis , and Strongyloides carinii . The nematodes Cosmocerca parva and A. meridionalis occurred with a prevalence of 79.1%, and, as in other Rhinella species, the nematodes dominated the parasite community. Host gender had no influence on either abundance or prevalence of the helminths, and neither the length nor weight of the hosts influenced the richness of the parasitic helminths of these burrowing toads. Only A. meridionalis and Centrorhynchus sp. (both cystacanths) exhibited a significant correlation between host length and abundance of helminths; only A. meridionalis showed a relationship between host length and prevalence.