Abstract:

Scientific publications on helminth parasites of amphibians in Rivers State, Nigeria are increasing, greatly. However, there has been a dearth of research from Rumuji-Emohua, only one report has been published. This research was aimed at investigating the parasitic helminth community of Ptychadena species from that location in order to add to the growing body of literature. Two host species P. mascareniensis and P. pumilio were examined. They were collected from the wild in the wet seasons of the months of June and July, 2018, using nets, euthanized in benzocaine and dissected for the isolation of parasites. Fifty-seven hosts were examined, and comprised of 21 P. mascareniensis and 36 P. pumilio. Nine parasite species including monogeneans, digeneans, cestodes and nematodes were recovered from the infected hosts. The nematodes, Chabaudus leberrei and Cosmocerca ornata occurred in greater prevalence rates (69.4 - 71.4% and 39.0 - 47.6%, respectively) than other parasites which was accounted for by their transmission modes. In comparison with reports of similar species from Ogoni, about the same parasite species were recovered from these hosts in both locations, however, at higher prevalence rates in hosts from Ogoni. It is reported that Ptychadena species offer a similar host-parasite system across habitats and this can be used for inferences in parasite diversity or environmental parasitology studies.