Gastrointestinal helminths of seven gekkonid lizard species (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Oceania

Abstract

A total of 1240 specimens of seven species of geckos, Gehyra mutilata, Gehyra oceanica, Hemidactylus frenatus, Hemidactylus garnotii, Lepidodactylus lugubris, Lepidodactylus moestus and Lepidodactylus paurolepis, from Oceania were examined for helminths. Two species of Cestoda, Cylindrotaenia allisonae and Oochoristica javaensis, eight species of Nematoda, Hedruris hanleyae, Maxvachonia chabaudi, Parapharyngodon maplestoni, Pharyngodon lepidodactylus, Physalopteroides arnoensis, Skrjabinelazia machidai, Spauligodon gehyrae and Spauligodon hemidactylus and larvae of two nematode species, Ascarops sp. and Physaloptera sp. were found. The mean helminth species richness for infected geckos was 1.1 - 0.3 SD (range=1-3 species). Helminths reported in this study are generalists. Twenty new host records are reported.