New helminth discovered in Philippine gecko gut
In this paper, a new species of nematode helminth parasite is described: Cosmocerca leytensis. In addition, this paper represents the first descriptive list of parasites found in the gecko, Cytodactylus gubuaot, which is known to reside only on the Leyte Island of the Philippines. Although C. leytensis is the 30th species within the genus, it is the first to be found from the Philippines. In order to distinguish between males and females, one can note that the position of the excretory pore, postbulbar in males and prebulbar in females, is similar to what we see in a Panamanian Region species, Cosmocerca longispicula. C. leytensis can be distinguished from other species in the genus based on the number or size of male anatomical structures, known as plectanes and spicules. Lastly, female members of C. leytensis have a more rounded posterior end that supports a flexible filament, whereas females of C. archeyi have a more conical tail.
Other parasites found in C. gubuat are representative of seven genera. Other than C. leytensis, all other parasites have been previously described in the guts of other snakes, lizards, and turtles of SE Asia.
Bursey, C.R., S.R. Goldberg, C.D. Siler, and R.M. Brown. 2015. A new species of Cosmocerca (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) and other helminths in Cyrtodactylus gubaot (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Philippines. Acta Parasitologica 60(4), 675–681. DOI: 10.1515/ap-2015-0096. pdf