Endoparasites of three species of house geckoes in Lampung, Indonesia

Thirty-four house geckoes (21 Cosymbotus platyurus, four Gehyra mutilata and nine Hemidactylus frenatus) in December, 1997 (rainy season) and 26 geckos (16 C. platyurus, six G. mutilata and four H. frenatus) in July, 2000 (dry season) were captured in Lampung, Indonesia. Some species of geckoes have been inadvertently introduced to many tropical regions from their native region, but the three species of geckoes in this study are native to Indonesia. Six species of endoparasites were recovered: Oochoristica javanensis (Cestoda) from the small intestine, Paradistomum geckonum (Digenea) from the small intestine and gallbladder, Postorchigenes ovatus (Digenea) from the small intestine, Spauligodon hemidactylus (Nematoda) from the large intestine, and Raillietiella gehyra and R. frenatus (Pentastomida) from the lungs. The prevalence and mean intensity of infection in each species of geckoes are also presented. The prevalence of S. hemidactylus from C. platyurus and H. frenatus in the rainy season was significantly higher than in the dry season. The low prevalence of S. hemidactylus in G. mutilata in the present study corresponded to a previous report from a non-native area. According to the original description, the male of S. hemidactylus lacked a spicule, but in the present study, one male was found with a spicule. The present study suggests male dimorphism occurs in Spauligodon. The number of endoparasite species and snout vent length of geckoes were positively correlated. Geckoes with high worm burdens may be more easily captured by predators.