<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The helminth fauna of juvenile green sea turtles (<italic>Chelonia mydas</italic> Linnaeus, 1758) is still poorly known. Herein, we study the gastrointestinal helminths of 28 juvenile green sea turtles found stranded on the north coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. All turtles were infected showing a rich helminth fauna. In total, 14802 trematodes belonging to 30 species and 5 families including Micros-caphidiidae, Plagiorchiidae, Pronocephalidae, Hapalotrematidae, and Telorchiidae were recovered. An unidentified nematode specimens was also found. The mean intensity was 536 (95% CI = 362 – 853) (range: 1 – 2831), and the species richness was 7.86 (95% CI = 6.46 – 9.21) (range: 1 – 17). The coast of Rio de Janeiro state represents new locality records for <italic>Angiodictyum posterovitellatum, Microscaphidium aberrans, M. warui, Octangium hyphalum, O. sagitta, Enodiotrema reductum</italic> and <italic>Pleurogonius laterouterus</italic>. This study confirms that the green sea turtle harbors the richest helminth fauna among sea turtle species and provides useful information on the gastrointestinal helminths of a poorly known stage in the life cycle of this endangered chelonian.</p>
</abstract>

The helminth fauna of juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas Linnaeus, 1758) is still poorly known. Herein, we study the gastrointestinal helminths of 28 juvenile green sea turtles found stranded on the north coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. All turtles were infected showing a rich helminth fauna. In total, 14802 trematodes belonging to 30 species and 5 families including Micros-caphidiidae, Plagiorchiidae, Pronocephalidae, Hapalotrematidae, and Telorchiidae were recovered. An unidentified nematode specimens was also found. The mean intensity was 536 (95% CI = 362 – 853) (range: 1 – 2831), and the species richness was 7.86 (95% CI = 6.46 – 9.21) (range: 1 – 17). The coast of Rio de Janeiro state represents new locality records for Angiodictyum posterovitellatum, Microscaphidium aberrans, M. warui, Octangium hyphalum, O. sagitta, Enodiotrema reductum and Pleurogonius laterouterus. This study confirms that the green sea turtle harbors the richest helminth fauna among sea turtle species and provides useful information on the gastrointestinal helminths of a poorly known stage in the life cycle of this endangered chelonian.

Helminth Fauna of Juvenile Green Sea Turtles (<italic>Chelonia mydas</italic>) from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

CIISA – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Universidade Cândido Mendes, Rua Anita Peçanha

Helminthologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Helminth Fauna of Juvenile Green Sea Turtles () from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

The helminth fauna of juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas Linnaeus, 1758) is still poorly known. Herein, we study the gastrointestinal helminths of 28...

Helminth Fauna of Juvenile Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Article Category: Research Note

Published Online: Sep 22, 2023

Page range: 196 - 200

Received: Jun 21, 2023

Accepted: Jul 20, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2023-0021

Keywords
green sea turtle, helminths, trematodes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

© 2023 B. Cavaco et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Helminth Fauna of Juvenile Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Article Category: Research Note

Published Online: Sep 22, 2023

Page range: 196 - 200

Received: Jun 21, 2023

Accepted: Jul 20, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2023-0021

Keywordsgreen sea turtle, helminths, trematodes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

© 2023 B. Cavaco et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
green sea turtle, helminths, trematodes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil