Parasitic endohelminths of tree frogs from two rainforest habitats in Edo State, Nigeria

Tree frogs are generally regarded as arboreal frogs and those associated with water during their breeding season as aquatic/arboreal frogs. Obazuwa Wetlands and Ikpako Riparian Habitat are both located in Ovia North East and Ovia South West Local Government Areas of Edo State, Nigeria. Frogs were captured from both habitats based on Acoustic Encounter Survey (AES) and the Visual Encounter Survey (VES) techniques. A total of 169 tree frogs were examined; 103 from Obazuwa Wetlands and 66 from Ikpako Riparian Habitat. The specimens from both sites comprised 08 species. Helminth parasites belonging to four taxa were recovered, which included: Cestoda, Trematoda, Nematoda and Acanthocephala. A prevalence of 39.8% and 30.5% were recorded for Obazuwa Wetlands and Ikpako Habitat, respectively. The helminth parasites were restricted to one of both habitats except for Foleyellides sp., which was common to both sites. Some of the helminth parasites were reported for the first time in some of the hosts such as Baerietta jaegerskioeldi (in Afrixalus nigeriensis and Leptopelis spiritusnoctis), Amplicaecum africanum (in Hyperolius guttulatus, Aplectana macintoshii (in L. spiritusnoctis), Cosmocerca commutata (in A. dorsalis and L. spiritusnoctis) and Physaloptera sp. (in Hyperolius concolor Phase B and H. concolor Phase C). The occurrence of Foleyellides sp. in 6 species of tree frogs with a prevalence range of 23.1-75.1% whereas only two species have been previously reported is exceptional and of pathological concern. Keywords: Tree frogs; helminthes; wetlands; riparian habitats; Edo State; Nigeria