Parasitic nematodes in two species of lizards of the family Leiosauridae in Argentina

Abstract

In the present note, we report, as novel information, the first record for Argentina of the genus Skrjabinodon (females) in P. scapulatus and the first record of P. retusa in this host species. We extended the distribution of P. retusa to Calin-gasta district, Portezuelo locality, 210 km away from the first record in Tocota, Iglesia district (Castillo et al. 2019). Regard-ing L. belli, we report the first record of the Physaloptera nem-atode for this host species in Neuquén province. The nema-tode taxa recorded in these hosts are generalist parasites and are likely to be widely found within the reptile fauna of Argentina. However, we do not rule out the possibility of finding new species or other genera of nematodes different from those found in this study. In our current study, the lack of male nematodes and adult stages made it difficult to determine the species; however, they likely correspond to new species. Because of this, we suggest intensifying the sampling studies.