Bull 307 Afkar M. Hadi and Ahlam J. Taher Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2017) 14 (4): 307-313 NEW RECORD OF PROTOZOAN NYCTOTHERUS HARDWICKII (JANAKIDEVI, 1961) FROM ROUGH-TAILED GECKO CYRTOPODION SCABRUM IN BAGHDAD, IRAQ Afkar M. Hadi* and Ahlam J. Taher** * Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq **Department of Biology, College of Education for Pure Sciences (Ibn Al- Haitham), University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq *Corresponding author: afkar_hadi_iraq@yahoo.com Received Date: 12 November 2017 Accepted Date: 03 December 2017 ABSTRACT The ciliate species isolated from midgut and hindgut of Rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden, 1827), identified as Nyctotherus hardwickii was collected from many regions of Baghdad, Iraq. The current study deals with a description and comparison of the morphology and morphometric characters of this species for the first time in Iraq. Key words: Ciliates, Morphmetric, Morphology, Nyctotherus hardwickii, Protozoan. INTRODUCTION Rough-tailed gecko is a species of gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden, 1827), its synonyms are :Gymnodactylus scaber, Cyrtodactylus scaber and Stenodactylus scaber (Roughscaled Gecko) that distributed in Turky, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Jordan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Kuwait, USA (introduced to Texas) (Rosler, 2000) . In Iraq Mahdi and Georg (1969) recorded this rough- tailed gecko in many regions, but there are few studies about their protozoan and other parasites infected by them. Recordings of Nyctotherus sp. are few in the world at large and in Iraq in particular; that Satbige et al. (2017) recorded from two pet turtle were presented with a history of diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss and passage of undigested food in the faeces. Ze`phyrin et al. (2013) described two species of Nyctotheridae in Bufo regularis (Amphibia: Anura) from the Northwest of Cameroon. Rataj et al. (2011) recoded Nyctotherus sp. in Spiny-tailed lizards Uromastyx hardwickii and Uromastyx dispar. In Iraq, Al-Mayali et al. (2010) recorded N. ovalis in cockroach Periplaneta americana (L.) in Al-Diwaniya province. The current study describes the ciliate species of N. hardwickii isolated from the gut of Rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum for the first time in Baghdad capital of Iraq. http://dx.doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2017.14.4.0307 308 New Record of Protozoan Nyctotherus Hardwickii MATERIALS AND METHODS The Rough-tailed gecko (Cyrtopodion scabrum) were collected from different localities of Baghdad city in May to October 2016. All gecko were diagnosed in the Iraqi Natural History Museum and Researches Center where it is the place of this work. Hosts were dissected and removed their digestive systems were removed, midgut, hindgut were taken out separately and kept in different watch glasses containing saline (0.6% NaCl) in distilled water solution. The gut smears were first examined under a light microscope and then a permanent preparation was made. Fixation was done by Canada balsam after staining with Aceto carmine stain. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION During the present study 28 gecko were dissected only 16 were positive for the presence of N. hardwickii in their guts; the infection rate was 57.14%. Classification Kingdom: Protozoa Phylum: Ciliophora Class: Polyhymenophorea Order: Heterotrichida Family: Nyctotheridae Genus: Nyctotherus Leidy, 1849 Species: hardwickii Janakidevi, 1961 Morphology The body of the present ciliate is short elongate as short pearl- shape. It is wide at posterior and narrow at the anterior. The body is covered with the numerous cilia which are all the same length and same distribution but increase in the peristome (Tab. 1). The boundary between the ectoplasm and the endoplasm is clear. Ectoplasm is more homogenous and transparent, while endoplasm is opaque due to multiple organelles. Macronucleus is cup-shape, lies in anterior part, often having very large spherules chromatin. Micronucleus is spherical dote, superimposed on the macronucleus on the right. Peristome started up at middle of the body; Cytopharynx is almost straight and uniform in diameter, it may reach to the posterior region with obtuse angle. Many glycogen bodies were distributed in endoplasm, giant form of glycogen body in anterior region, hence brown to black brown (Pl.1). There is a caudal projection in mid posterior end that eject and disappear during emotion containing cytopyge slit like which lead to contractile vacuole (Fig.1). Plate (1):Light micrograph directly smear of N. hardwickii without stain, 400X. 309 Afkar M. Hadi and Ahlam J. Taher Figure (1): General morphology of N. hardwickii, drawing . Abbreviations: Cv-contractile vacuoles, Cy- cytopyge, Cyp-cytopharanx, Gb-glycogen body, Inf- infundibulum, Ma- macronucleus, Mi-micronucleus, Pe- peristome. The movement the cilia is forward and then moves a rotational motion, decentralized and turns its body in different directions; this shows a difference in the shape and location of the macronucleus (Pl.2). Plate (2): A difference in the shape and location of the macronucleus during the movement. 310 New Record of Protozoan Nyctotherus Hardwickii Type of the host: The Rough-tailed gecko, Cyrtopodion scabrum Type of the locality: Adhamiya middle of Baghdad capital of Iraq. Habitat: Mid and hindgut. Type of the specimens: Permanent preparation belonging to this species are kept in the Department of Parasitology, Iraq Natural History Researches Center and Museum, University of Baghdad, Iraq. Table (1): Comparison description of the species N. hardwickii Comparative characters N. hardwickii According to Janakidevi (1961) N. hardwickii According Present author Body shape Pear-shaped with plastic pellicle Short pearl shape Dimensions Length 110.0–190.0µ, average 153.4 µ; range of breadth 60.0– 111.0 µ, average 86.0 µ Length 3.9 - 3.7 mm and 3.1 - 3 mm width Macronucleus cup-shaped and suspended by two short karyophores. Big cup-shape Micronucleus Superimposed on the macronucleus Spherical dote, superimposed on the macronucleus Peristome - Started up middle of the body Cytopharynx Long and almost reaching the posterior end of body and lined with membranelles on one side only Almost straight and uniform in diameter, it may reach to the posterior region with obtuse angle Contractile vacuole Single, leading into a cytopygeal canal Single, leading into a cytopygeal canal Cytopyge - slit like which lead to contractile vacuole Glycogen body A densely granulated area in front of macronucleus In anterior region, hence brown to black brown Host Uromastix hardwickii Cyrtopodion scabrum Locality India, Maharashtra. Baghdad, Iraq Description: The ciliate lives in the middle and posterior intestine of the Rough-tailed gecko, collected from many regions of Baghdad capital of Iraq. The cell is pearl-shape, with the anterior end narrower than the posterior end. It measures about 3.9 - 3.7 mm length, 3.1 - 3 mm width, macronucleus 2.2 - 2 mm length, 0.6 - 0.8 mm width, glycogen body 0.3 - 0.4 mm length, 0.4 - 0.5 mm width, peristome length about 1.8 – 2 mm with obtuse angle 130 º -125 º (Tab. 2) Table (2): Morphometric characters of N. hardwickii. Cell length (mm) Cell width (mm) Mn. Length (mm) Mn. Width (mm) Gb. Length (mm) Gb. Width (mm) Pe. Length (mm) AIP(º) Max 3.9 3.1 2.5 0.6 0.3 0.3 1.8 130 Mean 3.8 3.05 2.35 0.7 0.35 0.4 2 127.5 Min 3.7 3 2.2 0.8 0.4 0.5 2.2 125 SD 0.1 0.5 0.15 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.2 2.5 311 Afkar M. Hadi and Ahlam J. Taher Notes. AIP-angle infundibulum- peristome in degree, Gb-glycogen body, Max-maximum, Min-minimum, Mn- macronucleus, pe -peristome, SD- standard deviation. The current study revealed a high rate of infection with intestinal protozoa in gecko 57.14% when compared with the previous studies. In Turkey, Nurkan et al. (2001) recorded 31.25% rate of infection with N. hardwickii in the spiny- lizard, Laudakia stellio stellio, by rectal contents. This difference may be due to the way of which the samples were obtained. However, Rayyan et al. (2013) recorded 90% rate of infection with N. hardwickii of 67 the Roucktail Rock Agama, Laudakia stellio from Gaza Strip, Palestine. This difference is due to the difference of sample sizes. There is no pre-study in Iraq about the gecko being infected with this ciliate protozoan. Therefore, there is no comparison in the rates of infection in Iraq. Accordingly, this study is considered the first record of the N. harwickii in Iraqi gecko. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank Mr. Saman R. Afrasiab (Iraq Natural History Researches Center and Museum) for diagnosis the Geckos. LITERATURE CITED Al-Mayali, H. M., Muhammed, H. S. and Al-Yaqoobi, M.2010. Parasites of Cockroach Periplaneta americana (L.) in Al-Diwaniya province, Iraq. Journal Thi-Qar Sciences, 2 (3): 93-104. Janakidevi, K. 1961. A new ciliate from the Spiny tailed lizard. Z. Parasitenk., 21 : 155-158. (Cited by : Mahabal, A. and Sharma, R.M. 2012. Fauna of Maharashtra, State Fauna Series, 20(Part-2). Published by the Director, Zoological Survey India, Kolkata, 673pp. Mahdi, N. and Georg, P. V. 1969. A systematic list of the vertebrates of Iraq. University of Baghdad, Iraq Natural History Museum, Publication, No. 26: 1-104. Nurkan, U., Bayram, G. and Semih, U. 2001. Protozoa Living in The Rectum of the Spiny- Lizard, Laudakia stellio stellio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Reptilia: Lacertilia) and their Structures. Türkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi, 25 (1): 79-83. Rataj, V. L., Renata, L.K., Ksenija, V., Urška, M. and Alenka, D. 2011. Parasites in pet reptiles. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 53(33):10-20. Rayyan, A. , Al-Zain, B. and Al-Hindi, A. 2013. Gastrointestinal Parasites of the Rock tail Rock Agama, Laudakia stellio from Gaza Strip, Palestine. 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Bernard, V. and Télesphore, S. 2013. Description of two new species of Sicuophoridae and Nyctotheridae (Heterotrichina), endocommensal in the rectal ampulla of Bufo regularis (Amphibia: Anura) from the Northwest of Cameroon. Protistology, 8 (1): 16–21. 313 Afkar M. Hadi and Ahlam J. Taher Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2017) 14 (4): 307-313 Nyctotherus hardwickii (Janakidevi, 1961)تسجيل جديد للهدبي العراق، في بغداد Cyrtopodion scabrumمن الوزغ خشن الذيل أفكار مسلم هادي * و احالم جاسم طاهر ** بغداد جامعة الطبيعي، التاريخ ومتحف بحوث مركز* بغداد جامعة التربية ابن الهيثم للعلوم الصرفة، كلية** 13/21/1122 :تاريخ القبول 21/22/1122 :تاريخ االستالم الخالصة Cyrtopodionعزل احد انواع الهدبيات من القناة الهضمية للوزغ خشن الذيل scabrum و شخص على انه ،(Janakidevi, 1961) Nyctotherus hardwickii . لفة من محافظة بغداد، العرقلنماذج جمعت من مناطق مخت وصف هذا النوع مع اجراء مقارنة للشكل الخارجي له، كما تم اخذ القياسات لهذا النوع . ألول مرة في العراق