Preliminary Survey on Parasites Infecting Some Amphibian and Reptilian Species from United Arab Emirates and Qatar

Abstract

The common amphibian toad Bufo orientalis and four species of reptiles (Scincus muscatensis, Mabuya brevicolis, Uromastyx microlepis and Diplometopon zarudnyi) were collected from five localities in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar (The north eastern of Arabian Peninsula) and examined for parasites. Two protozoans, Haemogregarina sp. and Trypanosoma sp.; one digenean species, Paradistomoides magnum, two cestode species, Nematotaenia dispar and Oochoristica najdei; and three nematode species, Rhabdias bufonis, Thelandros sp. and Parapharyngodon sp. All parasites were compared with the previous records in the Arabian Peninsula and revealed that the two genera Paradistomoides and Parapharyngodon are recorded here for the first time from the Arabian Peninsula.