Frecuencia de pentastómidos del género Raillietiella y alteraciones patológicas en iguanas marinas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) diagnosticadas mediante necropsias en Puerto Ayora, isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos.

Abstract

The presence of parasites is very limited studied in the marine iguanas from the Galapagos Islandand there is not too much information on marine iguanas; Since the discovery of pentastomids for the first time recorded on the islands, in giant tortoises, this study was focused with the objective of searching for the presence of pentastomids, and the pathological alterations that they could cause in marine iguanas of Santa Cruz Island, searching through necropsies and complementing the study with coprological examinations. For the analysis, seven suitable individuals were found in states from fresh to moderate decomposition, in specific areas that cover the entire Bahia Academia and other sectors within the island; where unfortunately the presence of any pentastomid was not determined, with trematodes of three different species: Iguanacola navicularis, Cetiosaccus galapagensis, and Pyelosomum amblyrhynchi, the only parasites processed in the study. Pathological damage was recorded mostly in the lungs due to hemorrhages, and any pathological alteration in association with the presence of parasites was ruled out; In the coprological examinations, eggs of both trematodes and nematodes were found; and finally a Fisher's exact statistical test was carried out to correlate the sex of the marine iguanas and the presence of trematodes, resulting in a p value greater than 0.05, where there is not enough statistical evidence to reject the null hypothesis, therefore which we can deduce that there is no relationship between the sex of marine iguanas and the presence of trematodes.