Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2017) 5(4): 260-262; DOI: ISSN: 2322-5270; P-ISSN: 2383-0956 Journal homepage: www.ij-aquaticbiology.com © 2017 Iranian Society of Ichthyology Short Communication Helminth parasites fauna of the green toad, Bufo variabilis, Laurenti, 1768 (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Fars Province, Iran Ehsan Rakhshandehroo1, Amin Ahmadi1*, Zahra Asadollahi2 1Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. 2Department of Parasitology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Article history: Received 13 June 2017 Accepted 24 August 2017 Available online 2 5 August 2017 Keywords: Helminth infection Polystoma Nematotaenia Rhabdias ranae Abstract: The green toad, Bufo variabilis has been a common species of toads in Iran with a wide distribution in most provinces. The main goal of this study was to determine the helminth parasite fauna of B. variabilis in southwest of Iran. Among 30 toads inspected for helminth infection from different sites, 100% harbored one or more parasite species. Some toads were afflicted by intestinal obstruction, due to the infection with a large number of cestodes. Twenty-eight cases (93%) had mixed infection with cestodes (in intestine) and nematodes (in lung). Also, a toad was infected with a single monogenean parasite in its urinary bladder. The identified helminth parasites were monogenean, Polystoma viridis; cestode, Nematotaenia dispar and a species of nematode, Rhabdias ranae. This study reports for the first time the presence of nematode species R. ranae in B. variabilis in Iran. Introduction The green toad, Bufo variabilis Laurenti, 1768 is one of the most widespread old world amphibian species. It belongs to the family Bufonidae, a widely distributed amphibian families (Degani et al., 2013). Bufo viridis is widely distributed in much of Europe, Russia, Mongolia, Mediterranean countries, and central and southwest Asia (Stock et al., 2001). The green toad is an important component of local ecosystems (Vashetko and Siddikov, 1999). In Iran, its populations are widely distributed in most provinces and observed from below sea level to 4600 m above (Baloutch and Kami, 2007; Derakhshan and Nokhbat- olfoghahai, 2015). In recent years, several species of helminth parasites has been reported from different organs of toads from Iran. Mashaiiet al. (2008) reported one monogenean (Polystoma viridis), one cyclophyllid cestode (Nematotaenia dispar), and two nematodes (Rhabdias bufonis and Cosmocerca sp.) in green toads collected from the North and Northeast of Iran. They also recorded Monogenea, P. viridis; Digenean, *Corresponding author: Amin Ahmadi DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/ijab.v5i4.333 E-mail address: Ahmadi.A63@gmail.com Haplometra cylindracea; cyclophyllid cestode, N. dispar and Nematoda, Cosmocerca ornata, C. commutata, R. bufonis and Aplectana sp. from toads in different parts of Iran (Mashaii, 1999; Mashaii et al., 2000; Mashaii, 2005; Massoud and Farahnak, 1994). These studies seem not enough and thus more precise investigations are still required to identify the complete fauna of helminthes in toads (Dusen, 2011; Mohammad, et al., 2010). Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the parasitic fauna of B. variabilis in the Fars Province, southwest of Iran. Materials and Methods A total of thirty adult green toads were collected by hand from different locations in the Fars Province (29.1044°N, 53.0459°E), southwest of Iran. The frog carcasses transferred to the laboratory and dissected. The body cavity was opened by a longitudinal ventral incision and the alimentary canal was excised. Then, the contents of each organ (lungs, liver, gall bladder, kidneys and urinary bladder, and intestine) were 261 Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2017) 5(4): 260-262 mixed with 0.5% saline solution, poured into petridishes and examined under a stereomicroscope. The lungs were cut and checked out for infection. The worms were cleaned in saline and fixed in 70% ethanol. Monogeneans and cestodes were fixed in 70% alcohol while being slightly pressed between two glass slides, stained with acetocarmine, dehydrated in a series of alcohol concentrations of 80%, 90% and 100%, cleared in xylene and mounted in Canada balsam. Nematodes were cleared in lactophenol for examination. All the specimens were investigated morphologically by microscopic observations and identified based on Khalil et al. (1996) and Yamaguti (1959). Results and Discussion Despite its importance, the parasitic fauna in Iranian toads has received little attention from researchers (Mashaii, 1999, 2008; Massoud and Farahnak, 1994; Combes and Knoepffler, 1972). All collected toads were infected with at least one parasite. Helminth parasites of B. viridis were the monogenean, B. variabilis in the urinary bladder, and the cyclophyllid cestode, N. dispar and the nematodes, R. ranae (Fig. 1) in the intestine. One of the toads was infected with only one monogenea, P. viridi. Twenty-eight out of thirty toads (93.3%) had mixed infection with cestodes and nematodes. Except the nematode R. ranae, P. viridis and N. dispar has been previously reported as parasite of B. variabilis in various regions of Iran (Mashaii, 2005; Mashaii et al., 2008); It is also noteworthy that N. dispar has a wide distribution in amphibians and reptiles all over the world except Nearctic region (Prudhoe, 1982). In this study, the nematode R. ranae was found in B. variabilis for the first time in Iran; however previous studies have reported one different species, R. bufonis (Mashaii, 2005; Mashaii et al., 2008). The nematode genus Rhabdias, Stiles et Hassall, 1905 is a world-wide distributed group of parasitic nematodes. Most species of the genus inhabit the lungs of amphibians (Kuzmin, 2005). Rhabdias species have a direct life cycle (toad to toad infection) and also a very short life span. They, therefore, represent a potential model for searching the mechanisms involved in a number of phenomena of biological matters, such as trans-mission, genetics and ageing processes (Saeed, 2007).The results of this works could contribute for increasing the current knowledge on geographic distribution of parasite species and also their relationships with their hosts. Figure 1. Rhabdias ranae Walton, 1929 (a, b): Posterior end of male, and (c) female. 262 Rakhshanderoo et al./ Helminths of the green toad from Iran Acknowledgments We would like to thank Dr. Mobedi, M. Ahoo and A.M. Alavi for their kind assistances. References Baloutch M., Kami H.G. (2007). Amphibians of Iran. Tehran University Publications, Tehran. 177 p. Combes C., Knoepffler L.P. (1972). Helminthes parasites de Rana ridibunda ridibunda Pallas, 1771 sur les rives Iraniennes de la MerCaspienne. Vie et Milieu / Life and Environment, 2: 329-334. Degani D., Goldberg T., Gasith A., Elron E., Nevo E. (2013). DNA variations of the green toad Pseudepidalea viridis (syn. B. variabilis) from various habitats. Zoological Studies, 52: 1-15. Derakhshan Z., Nokhbatolfoghahai M. (2015). Thermal tolerance limits and effects of temperature on the growth and development of the green toad, Bufotes viridis. Salamandra, 51:129-136. Dusen S. (2011). The helminth parasites of the two bufonid toads, European common toad, Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) and European Green toad, Bufo (Pseudepidalea) viridis Laurenti, 1768 (Anura: Bufonidae), collected from Denizli Province, Inner-West Anatolia Region, Turkey. Helminthologia, 48:101-107. Khalil L.F., Jones A., Bray R.A. (1994). Keys to the cestode parasites of vertebrates. Wallingford, Oxon, CAB International. Kuzmin Y. (2005). The Description of Rhabdias globocephala (Nematoda, Rhabdiasidae) from the new host Buergeria pollicaris (Amphibia, Rhacophoridae). Vestnik Zoologii, 39: 9-14. Mashaii N., Balouch M., Mobedi I. (2008). A report about helminth parasites of Some Amphibians (Anura: Ranidae, Bufonidae) from the North and Northeast of Iran. Journal of Science and Technology, 33: 9-13. Mashaii N. (2005). 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Aquat. Biol. (2017) 5(4): 260-262 E-ISSN: 2322-5270; P-ISSN: 2383-0956 Journal homepage: www.ij-aquaticbiology.com © 2017 Iranian Society of Ichthyology چکیده فارسی استان فارس، ایران در Bufo variabilis, Laurenti, 1768 (Anura: Bufonidae)سبز وزغ کرمی هایانگلفون 2زهرا اسداللهی ،1*، امین احمدی1رودهنرخش ناحسا .ایران ،شیراز ،شیراز دانشگاه ،دامپزشکی دانشکدهپاتوبیولوژی، گروه1 .ایران ،تهران ،تهران دانشگاه ،دامپزشکی دانشکدهپاتوبیولوژی، گروه2 چکیده: این هدف. دارد ای پراکنش وسیعی هااستان از بسیاری در که است ایران هایوزغ از شایع ایگونه( Bufo variabilis Laurenti, 1768) سبز وزغ 100 شد، بررسی مختلف نواحی از که وزغ 30 بین از. باشدمی ایران غربی جنوب در B. variabilis کرمی هایانگل لودگیآ میزان تعیین مطالعه ( درصد 93) مورد 28. بودند شده روده انسداد دچار سستودها با شدید لودگیآ علت به آنها از برخی. بودند انگلی گونه چند یا یک دارای هاآن درصد هایکرم. بود لودهآ مونوژن انگل یک به مثانه کیسه در هاوزغ از یکی همچنین. بودند( ریه) نماتودها و( روده) سستودها به همزمان عفونت دارای مطالعه این. بودند Rhabdias ranae نماتود گونه یک تنها و Nematotaenia dispar: سستود ،Polystoma viridis: مونوژن داده، تشخیص انگلی .دهدمی گزارش را ایران در Bufo variabilis غزو در R. ranae نماتود حضور بار اولین برای .Polystoma ،Nematotaenia ،Rhabdias ranae ،کرمی آلودگی :کلمات کلیدی