Rhabdias bufonis

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Rhabdias bufonis
Systematics
Trunk : Roundworms (Nematoda)
Class : Secernentea
Order : Rhabditida
Family : Rhabdiasidae
Genre : Rhabdias
Type : Rhabdias bufonis
Scientific name
Rhabdias bufonis
( Cabinet , 1788)

Rhabdias bufonis is a species of roundworm from the Rhabdiasidae familythat parasitizes in the lungs of frogs . It was first discovered in the European common toad ( Bufo bufo ).

distribution

Rhabdias bufonis is widespread worldwide, but is found mainly in Europe and Asia . In North America, the roundworm is known from Canada and parts of the United States . It occurs in all habitats that are also inhabited by their host animals . Except for the common toad in which the parasitic nematodes were first discovered, they could also in the spadefoot ( Pelobates fuscus ), the green toad ( Bufo viridis ), the fire-bellied toad ( Bombina bombina ), the yellow-bellied toad ( Bombina variegata ), the common frog ( Rana temporaria ), the moor frog ( Rana arvalis ), the agile frog ( Rana dalmatina ) and the water frogs (genus or subgenus Pelophylax ) can be detected.

Life cycle

In Rhabdias bufonis , as with many nematodes, there is a generation change . Free living forms alternate with parasitic ones. The free-living worms are sexually separated, the parasitic forms are hermaphrodites . These feed on the frogs' lung tissue and are up to ten times as long as the free-living worms. After a while, the parasites produce eggs that enter the frogs' oral cavity via the respiratory tract and are swallowed. In the digestive tract, the eggs develop into the juvenile stages of worms and are eventually excreted. They remain in the frogs' excrement for three to seven days, after which they live in the earth and feed on bacteria and other living things in decaying organic material. After four moults they reach the adult stage. The females produce eggs, which are fertilized by the males and continue to develop in the womb. The worms hatch inside the mother animal and feed on its tissues . They only leave the womb after two moults and penetrate through the skin into the lungs of their hosts.

It mainly infects young frogs and if several roundworms reach their lungs at the same time, this can significantly inhibit their growth. One study found that infested frogs were often only half the weight of healthy frogs of the same age. This is due to a reduced food intake induced by the worm infestation.

Taxonomy

Rhabdias bufonis was described as Ascaris bufonis in 1788 by Franz von Paula Kasten in his list of the previously well-known intestinal worms .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Family Rhabdiasidae Railliet, 1915 , species list
  2. ^ Zachary Leonard: Rhabdias bufonis . Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan, 2001 (accessed May 7, 2013)
  3. ↑ CP Goater, PI Ward: Negative effects of Rhabdias bufonis (Nematoda) on the growth and survival of toads (Bufo bufo). In: Oecologia. 89, 2, 1992, pp. 161-165.

literature

  • Franz von Paula Wardrobe : Directory of the intestinal worms that are well known so far, together with a treatise on their relationships. Munich 1788. (first description)

Web links