Parasitic fauna in the invasive lizard Hemidactylus mabouia (acertilia: ekkonidae), in anthropized environments of astern razilian mazon

This study characterizes the structure and ecological patterns of the endoparasite community associated with the exotic lizard Hemidactylus mabouia in three municipalities in western Pará, Brazil. A total of 156 individuals were examined, of which 71.15% (CI 63.49–77.95) were infected. Altogether, 1,819 endoparasites were collected, distributed across five major groups: Nematoda, Acanthocephala, Cestoda, Trematoda, and Pentastomida. Taxonomic composition was similar among localities, varying mainly in quantitative infection parameters. Mean abundance was 11.66 (CI 8.94–15.51), and mean intensity was 16.39 (1–134), with an aggregated distribution for all recorded species. The trematode Paradistomum sp. stood out as the most dominant taxon, presenting the highest prevalence 37.82% (CI 30.41–45.82), mean abundance 6.64 (CI 4.29–10.41), mean intensity 17.56 (1–116), and dominance frequency (84.75%). Infracommunities showed low diversity and evenness, while the component community exhibited moderate diversity ( H ’ = 1.33), higher evenness ( J ’ = 0.74), and high dominance according to Berger-Parker (0.57). The small intestine and gallbladder were the main infection sites. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed positive and significant correlations between the snout-vent length of the hosts and the abundance of five of the six endoparasite taxa evaluated. Furthermore, no statistically significant differences in prevalence were detected between males and females. Thus, the results expand knowledge on the parasite ecology of H. mabouia in anthropic environments in the Eastern Amazon and record for the first time the occurrence of cystacanths of the genus Centrorhynchus parasitizing this species in South America.