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

• Published in: Helminthologia 2023-06, Vol.60 (2), p.196-200
• Main Authors: Cavaco, B., Madeira de Carvalho, L. M., Shimoda, E., Santoro, M., Werneck, M. R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic reptiles; Brazil; Chelonia mydas; Fauna; green sea turtle; Harbors; helminths; Juveniles; Life cycle; Life cycles; New records; Reptiles & amphibians; Research Note; Rio de Janeiro; Sea turtles; Species richness; trematodes; Turtles
• ISSN: 1336-9083; 0440-6605; 1336-9083
• DOI: 10.2478/helm-2023-0021

The helminth fauna of juvenile green sea turtles ( 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 and . 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.