Metacercariae of Strigeidae Parasitizing Amphibians of the Chaco Region in Argentina

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to analyze the metacercariae found in adultamphibians collected in the Argentinean Chaco region. A total of 194 frogs,Leptodactylus chaquensis, Leptodactylus latinasus, and Lepidobatrachus laevis wasexamined for digeneans. Three different larval trematodes of the genus Strigea(Digenea, Strigeidae) were found infecting the liver, mesentery, body cavity, andmuscle of frogs. These metacercariae are described and illustrated for the first time andprovide new information on the composition of metacercariae in amphibians, thuscontributing to the knowledge of larval trematodes biodiversity in the Neotropicalregion. We also present new information on the morphology and morphometry of strigeid metacercariae.