The Neotropical region corresponds to Central and South America, where five species of sea turtles are found: Green turtle (Chelonia mydas Linnaeus, 1758), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta Linnaeus, 1758), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata Linnaeus, 1766), Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea Eschscholtz, 1829) and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea Vandelli, 1761) (Lutz & Musick, 1996). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2015) considers C. caretta, C. mydas and L. olivacea as endangered and both D. coriacea and E. imbricata as critically threatened.
Parasitological analyses of sea turtles have been conducted for many years and the results have contributed to a better understanding of the helminths of this group of hosts. Thus, the aim of this paper was to offer a comprehensive bibliographic review of the species of endohelminths found in sea turtles in the Neotropics.
This checklist was developed using only scientific papers on endohelminths identified in sea turtles published between 1911 and 2016. Dissertations, theses and abstracts from conferences were not considered.
The data are presented in two forms: The first part of the paper presents a list of helminths (and synonyms) separated by family, genus and species and includes the infection site, location, infected host and author of the reference. The second part presents the hosts and a list of helminths reported in these hosts. For the classification, the taxonomic proposal presented by the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS, 2015) was used.
This checklist records the occurrence of 79 taxa of parasites. Seventy six represent the phylum Platyhelminthes (one from the order Aspidogastrida, 11 from the order Diplostomida and 64 from the order Plagiorchiida) represented by 14 families. Three represent the phylum Nematoda, in which two families have been found in the sea turtles C. mydas, C. caretta, E. imbricata, L. olivacea and D. coriacea. Overall helminths are reported in 12 countries and three are reported for the region in which the present study took place (i.e. the Caribbean Sea).
Phylum Platyhelminthes Gegenbaur, 1859
Class Trematoda Rudolphi, 1808
Subclass Aspidogastrea Faust & Tang, 1936
Order Aspidogastrida Skrjabin & Guschanskaja, 1962
Superfamily Apidogastroidea Poche, 1907
Family Aspidogastridae Poche, 1907
Lophotaspis vallei (Stossich, 1899)
Site of infection: Esophagus and stomach.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Araújo, 1941)
Subclass Digenea Carus, 1863
Order Plagiorchiida La Rue, 1957
Suborder Echinostomata Szidat, 1939
Super Family Echinostomatoidea Looss, 1902
Family Calycodidae Dollfus. 1929
Calycodes anthos (Braun, 1899) Looss, 1901.
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008a), C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955) and Brazil (Binoti et al., 2016); D. coriacea from Uruguay (Werneck et al., 2012) and L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996).
Calycodes caborojoensisFischthal e Acholonu, 1976
Site of infection: small intestine of E imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976; Dyer et al., 1995a).
Familia Rhytidodidae Odhner, 1926
Rhytidodes gelatinosus (Rudolphi, 1819) Looss, 1901
Site of infection: Stomach and intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Viana, 1924; Travassos et al., 1969); C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero, 1954) and Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015) and E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976; Dyer et al., 1995a) and Cuba (Vigueras, 1955).
Rhytidodoides intestinalis Price, 1939
Site of infection: Gall bladder.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero, 1954) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Rhytidodoides similis Price, 1939
Site of infection: Gall bladder.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero, 1954), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006) and Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015a).
Suborder Hemiurata Markevitsch 1951
Superfamily Hemiuroidea Looss, 1899
Family Sclerodistomidae Odner, 1927
Prosorchis psenopsis Yamaguti, 1934
Site of infection: Stomach.
Host and distribution: L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996).
Suborder Pronocephalata Olson, Cribb, Tkach, Bray & Littlewood, 2003
Superfamily Paramphistomoidea Fischoeder, 1901
Family Cladorchiidae Fischoeder, 1901
Schizamphistomum erratumBlair, 1983 (Synonym: Schizamphistomoides erratumBlair, 1983)
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Schizamphistomoides spinulosum (Looss, 1901) Stunkard, 1925
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955).
Schizamphistomum scleroporum (Creplin, 1844) Looss, 1912 (Synonym: Schizamphistomoides cheloneiGupta 1961)
Site of infection: Stomach and intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva 2015), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Cuba (Groschaft et al., 1977) and Trinidade (The West Indies) (Gupta, 1961) and E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Schizamphistomum sp. Looss, 1912
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Binoti et al., 2016) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995b).
Family Microscaphidiidae Looss, 1900
Angiodictyum anteroporum Chattopadhyaya, 1972 (Taxon inquirendum)
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995a).
Angiodictyum longumBlair, 1986
Site of infection: Small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva 2015; Binoti et al., 2016).
Angiodictyum mooreaeDyer, Williams & Bunkley-Williams, 1995
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995c).
Angiodictyum parallelum (Looss, 1901) Looss, 1902 (Synonym: Microscaphidium parallelum Looss, 1901)
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution:, C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1991) and E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995c).
Deuterobaris cheloneiGupta, 1961.
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Trinidad (The West India) (Gupta, 1961).
Deuterobaris intestinalis Mehrotra, 1973
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Deuterobaris proteus (Brandes, 1891) Looss, 1900
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1991; Dyer et al., 1995b).
Microscaphidium reticulare (Van Beneden, 1859) Looss, 1900 (Synonym: Microscaphidium caballeroiGroschaft, 1977, Microscaphidium japonicum Oguro, 1941 and Monostomum reticulare Van Beneden, 1859)
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Cuba (Groschaft et al., 1977) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995b).
Microscaphidium waruiBlair, 1986
Site of infection: Urinary bladder.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Microscaphidium aberrans Looss, 1902
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero, 1954)
Neoctangium travassosiRuiz, 1943
[Synonym: Octangium travassosi (Ruiz, 1943) Yamaguti, 1958, Neoctangium trinidadiGupta 1962]
Site of infection: Stomach and small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
C. mydas from Brazil [Ruiz 1943 (see Muniz-Pereira et al., 2009); Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016)], Caribbean Sea (Gupta, 1962) and Trinidad (The West Indies) (Gupta, 1961).
Octangium hyphalumBlair, 1987
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Octangium sagitta (Looss, 1899) Looss, 1902
[Synonym: Microscapha sagitta Looss, 1899, Octangium hasta Looss, 1902, Octangium takanoi Kobayashi, 1921 (see Blair, 1987)].
Site of infection: Stomach and small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1991) and E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976; Dyer et al., 1995c).
Polyangium linguatula (Looss, 1899)
[Synonym: Microscaphidium linguatula Looss, 1899, Nephrobius colymbi Poche, 1926, Polyangium colymbi (Poche, 1926), Polyangium longiseminale Chattopadhyaya, 1972 and Polyangium miyajimai Kobayashi, 1915].
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Teixeira de Freitas & Lent, 1938; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Cuba (Groschaft et al., 1977) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1991; Dyer et al., 1995c).
Superfamily Pronocephaloidea Looss, 1899
Family Pronocephalidae Looss, 1899
Adenogaster serialis Looss, 1901
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955) and Peru (Tantalean et al., 1992); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015) and Cuba (Vigueras, 1955) and L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996; Vivaldo et al., 2006; Vivaldo et al., 2009).
Charaxicephaloides polyorchisGroschaft & Tenora, 1978.
Site of infection: Stomach.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2009a) and Cuba (Groschaft & Tenora, 1978; Groschaft et al., 1977).
Charaxicephaloides sp. Groschaft & Tenora, 1978
Site of infection: Stomach.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Charaxicephalus robustus Looss, 1901
Site of infection: Esophagus and stomach.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Binoti et al., 2016) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Cricocephalus americanusVigueras, 1955
Site of infection: Stomach.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Cuba (Viegueras, 1955).
Cricocephalus albus (Kuhl & Van Hasselt, 1822)
(Synonym: Cricocephalus delitescens Looss, 1899 and Cricocephalus koidzumii Kobayashi, 1921).
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Panama (Caballero et al., 1955) and Trinidade (The West Indies) (Gupta, 1961); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Cricocephalus megastomum Looss, 1902
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006) and Cuba (Groschaft et al., 1977); E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976; Dyer et al., 1995a).
Cricocephalus resectus Looss, 1902
Site of infection: Esophagus and stomach.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Cricocephalus vitallani (Gupta, 1962)
(Synonym: Neocricocephalus vitallaniGupta, 1962)
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Caribbean Sea (Gupta, 1962).
Desmogonius desmogoniusStephens, 1911
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from “Caribbean waters” (Coil & Reid, 1965), Costa Rica. (Santoro et al., 2006) and Jamaica (Stephens, 1911).
Diaschistorchis pandus (Braun, 1901) Johnstone, 1913
Site of infection: Stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015); E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015b), Cuba (Vigueras, 1955) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976; Dyer et al., 1995a).
Metacetabulum invaginatumTeixeira de Freitas & Lent 1938
Site of infection: Stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Teixeira de Freitas & Lent, 1938; Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016); E. imbricata from Porto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pleurogonius americanusCaballero, Zerecero & Grocott, 1955
[Synonym: Pyelosomum americanum (Caballero, Zerecero & Grocott, 1955)]
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955).
Pleurogonius laterouteusFischthal & Acholonu, 1976
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Porto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pleurogonius linearis Looss, 1901
[Synonym: Pyelosomum lineare (Looss, 1901)]
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015), México (Caballero & Zerecero, 1950) and Porto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pleurogonius longiusculus Looss, 1901
[Synonym: Pyelosomum longiusculum (Looss, 1901)]
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006) and Panamá (Caballero, 1954; Caballero et al., 1955).
Pleurogonius grocottiCaballero, 1954
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero, 1954).
Pleurogonius chelonii Mehra, 1939
(Synonym: Pleurogonius mehraiRuiz, 1946).
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Trinidad (The West Indies) (Gupta, 1961).
Pleurogonius longibursatusVigueras, 1955
[Synonym: Pyelosomum longibursatum (Vigueras, 1955)].
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Cuba (Vigueras, 1955).
Pleurogonius puertoricensisFischthal & Acholonu, 1976
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pleurogonius sindhii Mehra, 1939
[Synonym: Pyelosomum sindhii (Mehra, 1939)].
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006) and Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955).
Pleurogonius solidus Looss, 1901
[Synonym: Pyelosomum solidum (Looss, 1901); Glyphicephalus solidus Looss, 1901].
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006) and E. imbricata from Cuba (Vigueras, 1955).
Pleurogonius tortugueroiSantoro, Greiner, Morales & Rodriguez-Ortíz, 2007.
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2007).
Pleurogonius trigonocephalus (Rudolphi, 1809) Looss, 1901.
[Synonym: Pyelosomum trigonocephalum (Rudolphi, 1809), and Monostoma trigonocephalum Rudolphi, 1809].
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and liver.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015), Cuba (Vigueras, 1955) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pleurogonius sp.
Site of infection: Intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from British West Indies (Greiner et al., 1980) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Pleurogonius lobatus (Looss, 1901)
(Synonym: Glyphicephalus lobatus Looss, 1901).
Site of infection: Stomach and small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Panama (Caballero et al., 1955), and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1991); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976); L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996).
Pleurogonius latusFischthal & Acholonu 1976 (Synonym: Glyphicephalus latusFischthal & Acholonu 1976).
Site of infection: Small intestine (occasionally stomach and large intestine).
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pleurogonius stenobursatum (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976) Blair, 2005
[Synonym: Pyelosomum stenobursatum (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976) Pérez ponce de León & Brooks, 1995, and Epibathra stenobursataFischthal & Acholonu 1976].
Site of infection: Large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pronocephalus obliquus Looss, 1899
(Synonym: Pronocephalus mehrai Chattopadhyaya, 1972).
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and liver.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006); E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015b).
Pronocephalus trigonocephalus Looss, 1899
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Viana, 1924); C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Binoti et al., 2016) and Panama (Caballero et al., 1955).
Pyelosomum cochlear Looss, 1899
Site of infection: Urinary bladder.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Panamá (Caballero, 1954) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995b; Dyer et al., 1991); L. olivacea from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015c).
Pyelosomum crassum (Looss, 1901) Ruiz, 1946
(Synonym: Glyphicephalus crassa Looss, 1901).
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015), and E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015).
Pyelosomum posterorchis Oguro, 1936
Site of infection: Small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panama (Caballero et al., 1955); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Pyelosomum renicapite (Leidy, 1856)
[Synonym: Astrorchis renicapite (Leidy, 1856), Monostomum nephrocephalum Diesing, 1858, Monostomum sphargidis MacCallum, 1921 and Pyelosomum longicaecum Luhman, 1935]
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008a); D. coriacea from Brazil and Uruguay (Werneck et al., 2012) and Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995b); L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996).
Rameshwarotrema uterocrescens Rao, 1975
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006); E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995a).
Ruicephalus minutus (Ruiz, 1946) Skrjabin, 1955
(Synonym: Pronocephalus minutusRuiz, 1946)
Site of infection: Stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Ruiz, 1946; Travassos et al., 1969; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016).
Suborder Xiphidiata Olson Cribb, Tkach, Bray & Littlewood, 2003
Superfamily Gorgoderoidea Looss, 1901
Family Gorgoderidae Looss, 1899
Subfamily Anaporrhutinae Looss, 1901
Plesiochorus cymbiformis (Rudolphi, 1819) Looss, 1901
[Synonym: Phyllodistomum cymbiforme (Rudolphi, 1819; Plesiochorus cymbiformis elongatus Pigulevsky, 1953]
Site of infection: Urinary bladder and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Binoti et al., 2016) and Panamá (Caballero, 1954); E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976); L. olivacea from Costa Rica (Santoro & Morales, 2007).
Superfamily Microphalloidea Ward, 1901
Family Pachypsolidae Yamaguti, 1958
Pachypsolus irroratus (Rudolphi, 1819) Looss, 1902
[Synonym: Pachypsolus branchus Barker, 1922, Pachypsolus lunatus Looss, 1901, Pachypsolus puertoricensisFischthal e Acholonu 1976 and Pachypsolus ovalis Linton, 1910)].
Site of infection: Stomach and intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955); E. imbricata from Porto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976); L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996) and Costa Rica (Santoro & Morales, 2007).
Superfamily Plagiorchioidea Lühe, 1901
Family Brachycoeliidae Looss, 1899
Cymatocarpus solearis (Braun, 1899) Braun, 1901 (probably Synonym: Cymatocarpus undulatus Looss, 1899)
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015) and Mexico (Caballero, 1959); E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015b)
Family Plagiorchiidae Lühe, 1901
Enodiotrema megachondrus (Looss, 1899) Looss, 1901
Site of infection: Small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2016a); E. imbricata from Cuba (Groschaft et al., 1977); L. olivacea from Costa Rica (Santoro & Morales, 2007) and México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996; Vivaldo et al., 2006).
Enodiotrema reductum Looss, 1901
Site of infection: Small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Panamá (Caballero, 1954); E. imbricata from Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976; Dyer et al., 1995a).
Family Styphlotrematidae Baer, 1924
Styphlotrema solitaria (Looss, 1899) Odhner, 1911 Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2012), Cuba (Groschaft et al., 1977) and Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Family Telorchiidae Looss, 1899
Orchidasma amphiorchis (Braun, 1899)
Site of infection: Stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Argentina (Boero & Led, 1974) and Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008a); C. mydas from Brazil (Teixeira de Freitas & Lent, 1938; Travassos et al., 1969; Binoti et al., 2016), México (Caballero & Zerecero, 1950; Caballero, 1962); Panama (Caballero et al., 1955), and Peru (Tantalean et al., 1992); E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976); L. olivacea from México (Pérez-Ponce de Leon et al., 1996).
Order Diplostomida Olson, Cribb, Tkach, Bray & Littlewood, 2003
Suborder Diplostomata Olson, Cribb, Tkach, Bray & Littlewood, 2003
Superfamily Schistosomatoidea Stiles & Hassall, 1898
Family Spirorchiidae Stunkard, 1921
Amphiorchis amphiorchis Price, 1934
Site of infection: Blood vessels of large intestine.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Amphiorchis caborojoensisFischthal & Acholonu, 1976
Site of infection: Blood vessels of lung, liver, small intestine, body wash and heart.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995a; Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976) and Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008b; Dutra et al., 2012; Werneck et al., 2015b).
Amphiorchis indicus Mehrotra, 1973
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and liver.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2013; Werneck & Silva, 2015).
Amphiorchis solus (Simha & Chattopadhyaya, 1970) Platt, 2002 (Synonym: Squaroacetabulum solus Simha & Chattopadhyaya, 1970)
Site of infection: Intestine and heart.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2011; Werneck & Medeiros, 2016) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006).
Carettacola stunkardi (Martin & Bamberger, 1952)
[Synonym: Haemoxenicon stunkardi Martin & Bamberger, 1951, Carettacola chelonenecon (Martin & Bamberger, 1952), and Haemoxenicon chelonenecon Martin & Bamberger, 1952)].
Site of infection: Blood vessels of urinary bladder, heart, body wash and liver.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2013) and Panamá (Caballero et al., 1955); E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008b; Werneck et al., 2015b) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2015).
Hapalotrema postorchis Rao, 1976
Site of infection: Great vessels and heart.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015d) and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006); E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2014).
Hapalotrema synorchis Luhman, 1935
Site of infection: Heart.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Learedius learedi Price, 1934
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, liver, gall bladder, heart, lung, body wash, kidney.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Bermuda (Rand & Wiles, 1985), Brazil (Werneck et al., 2006; Werneck & Silva, 2015; Binoti et al., 2016), British West Indies (Greiner et al., 1980), Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006), Panama (Caballero et al., 1955), Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1991), México (Cordeiro-Tapia et al., 2004; Inohuye-Rivera et al., 2004); E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995a).
Learedius orientalis Mehra, 1939
Site of infection: Heart.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1995a); E. imbricata from Puerto Rico (Fischthal & Acholonu, 1976).
Monticellius indicum Mehra, 1939
Site of infection: Heart.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008c; Werneck & Silva, 2015 and Costa Rica (Santoro et al., 2006; Santoro et al., 2009b); E. imbricata from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2015e).
Neospirorchis schistosomatoides Price 1934
Site of infection: Heart chambers and Aorta.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Bermuda (Rand & Wiles, 1985) and Brazil (Werneck et al., 2016b).
Neospirorchis sp.
Site of infection: Small intestine, liver, heart, lung, body wash. Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015).
Phylum Nematoda Rudolphi, 1808
Class Chromadorea Inglis, 1983
Subclass Chromadoria Adamson, 1987
Order Rhabditida Chitwood, 1933
Suborder Spirurina Railliet & Henry, 1915
Infraorder Ascaridomorpha De Ley & Blaxter 2002
Superfamily Ascaridoidea Baird, 1853
Family Anisakidae Skrjabin e Karokhin, 1945
Sulcascaris sulcata (Rudolphi, 1819)
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach and small intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008a) and Uruguay (Lent & Teixeira de Freitas, 1948); C. mydas from Brazil (Teixeira de Freitas & Lent, 1946).
Anisakis larvae
Site of infection: Body wash.
Host and distribution: E. imbricata from (Werneck et al., 2015b).
Superfamily Cosmocercoidea Travassos, 1935
Family Kathlaniidae Travassos, 1918
Kathlania leptura (Rudolphi, 1819)
Site of infection: Small and large intestine.
Host and distribution: C. caretta from Brazil (Werneck et al., 2008a); C. mydas from Brazil (Travassos, 1918).
Tonaudia freitasiVicente & Santos, 1968.
Site of infection: Stomach.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Vicente & Santos, 1968).
Nematode larvae
Site of infection: Esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, liver.
Host and distribution: C. mydas from Brazil (Werneck & Silva, 2015).
Digeneans
Family Calycodidae
Calycodes anthos
Family Rhytidodidae
Rhytidodes gelatinosus
Rhytidodoides intestinalis
Rhytidodoides similis
Family Cladorchiidae
Schizamphistomum erratum
Schizamphistomum scleroporum
Schizamphistomoides spinulosum
Family Microscaphidiidae
Angiodictyum longum
Angiodictyum parallelum
Deuterobaris chelonei
Deuterobaris intestinalis
Deuterobaris proteus
Microscaphidium aberrans
Microscaphidium reticulare
Microscaphidium warui
Neoctangium travassosi
Octangium hyphalum
Octangium sagitta
Polyangium linguatula
Family Pronocephalidae
Adenogaster serialis
Charaxicephaloides polyorchis
Charaxicephalus robustus
Cricocephalus albus
Cricocephalus megastomum
Cricocephalus resectus
Cricocephalus vitallani
Desmogonius desmogonius
Diaschistorchis pandus
Metacetabulum invaginatum
Pleurogonius americanus
Pleurogonius chelonii
Pleurogonius grocotti
Pleurogonius linearis
Pleurogonius longiusculus
Pleurogonius sindhii
Pleurogonius solidus
Pleurogonius tortugueroi
Pleurogonius trigonocephalus
Pleurogonius lobatus
Pronocephalus obliquus
Pronocephalus trigonocephalus
Pyelosomum cochlear
Pyelosomum crassum
Pyelosomum posterorchis
Rameshwarotrema uterocrescens
Ruicephalus minutus
Family Gorgoderidae
Plesiochorus cymbiformis
Family Pachypsolidae
Pachypsolus irroratus
Family Brachycoeliidae
Cymatocarpus solearis
Family Plagiorchiidae
Enodiotrema reductumFamily Telorchiidae
Orchidasma amphiorchisFamily Spirorchiidae
Amphiorchis indicus
Amphiorchis solus
Carettacola stunkardi
Hapalotrema postorchis
Learedius learedi
Learedius orientalis
Monticellius indicum
Neospirorchis schistosomatoides
Nematodes
FamilyAnisakidae
Sulcascaris sulcata
Family Kathlaniidae
Kathlania leptura.
Tonaudia freitasi
Digeneans
Family Calycodidae
Calycodes caborojoensis
Familia Rhytidodidae
Rhytidodes gelatinosus
Family Cladorchiidae
Schizamphistomum scleroporum
Family Microscaphidiidae
Angiodictyum anteroporum
Angiodictyum mooreae
Angiodictyum parallelum
Neoctangium travassosi
Octangium sagitta
Family Pronocephalidae
Adenogaster serialis
Cricocephalus albus
Cricocephalus americanus
Cricocephalus megastomum
Diaschistorchis pandus
Metacetabulum invaginatum
Pleurogonius laterouteus
Pleurogonius latus
Pleurogonius linearis
Pleurogonius lobatus
Pleurogonius longibursatus
Pleurogonius puertoricensis
Pleurogonius solidus
Pleurogonius trigonocephalus
Pleurogonius stenobursatum
Pronocephalus obliquus
Pyelosomum crassum
Pyelosomum posterorchis
Rameshwarotrema uterocrescens
Family Gorgoderidae
Plesiochorus cymbiformis
Family Pachypsolidae
Pachypsolus irroratus
Family Brachycoeliidae
Cymatocarpus solearis
Family Plagiorchiidae
Enodiotrema megachondrus
Enodiotrema reductum
Family Styphlotrematidae
Styphlotrema solitaria
Family Telorchiidae
Orchidasma amphiorchis
Family Spirorchiidae
Amphiorchis amphiorchis
Amphiorchis caborojoensis
Carettacola stunkardi
Hapalotrema postorchis
Hapalotrema synorchis
Learedius learedi
Learedius orientalis
Monticellius indicum
Nematodes
FamilyAnisakidae
Anisakis larvae
Digeneans
Family Calycodidae
Calycodes anthos
Family Sclerodistomidae
Prosorchis psenopsis
Family Pronocephalidae
Adenogaster serialis
Pleurogoius lobatus
Pyelosomum cochlear
Pyelosomum renicapite
Family Gongoderidae
Plesiochorus cymbiformis
Family Pachypsolidae
Pachypsolus irroratus
Family Plagiorchiidae
Enodiotrema megachondrus
Family Telorchiidae
Orchidasma amphiorchis
Aspidogastrids Family Aspidogastridae
Lophotaspis vallei
Digeneans Family Calycodidae
Calycodes anthos
Familia Rhytidodidae
Rhytidodes gelatinosus
Family Pronocephalidae
Pronocephalus trigonocephalus
Pyelosomum renicapite
Family Telorchiidae
Orchidasma amphiorchis
Nematodes
FamilyAnisakidae
Sulcascaris sulcata
Family Kathlaniidae
Kathlania leptura
Digeneans Family Calycodidae
Calycodes anthos
Family Pronocephalidae
Pyelosomum renicapite
This checklist demonstrates the occurrence of 79 taxa of helminthes parasites. Seventy six represent the phylum Platyhelminthes (one from the order Aspidogastrida, 11 from the order Diplostomida and 64 from the order Plagiorchiida) represented by 14 families. Three represent the phylum Nematoda, Five species of sea turtles (C. mydas, C. caretta, E. imbricata, L. olivacea and D. coriacea) had records of helminths in the Neotropical region. The host with the largest number of records of parasites was C. mydas (records of only the genus were excluded from the calculation), representing 62 parasite species, followed by E. imbricata (42 species), L. olivacea (10 species), C. caretta (8 species) and D. coriacea (2 species). Overall helminths are reported in 12 countries and three are reported for the region in which the present study took place (i.e. the Caribbean Sea).
Among the countries in which helminths are reported, Brazil, Costa Rica and Panamá have the largest number of records for C. mydas. Lepidochelys olivacea is the best studied sea turtle from Mexico, with eight records of parasite species. Porto Rico stands out for the large number of parasite species reported in E. imbricata, such as C. caborojoensis, A. anteroporum, A. mooreae, P. laterouterus, P. puertoricensis, P. latus, P. sternobursatum, A. amphiorchis and H. synorchis, which are only found in this country in this region.
Dermochelys coriacea had the fewest reports of parasites from the region with only C. anthos and P. renicapite) being detected. This species of turtle has been studied the least of all marine turtles regarding its parasites around the world (see Werneck et al., 2012). This paper presents the largest compilation of data on helminth parasites in sea turtles in the Neotropical region published to date.