New host and locality records for gastrointestinal helminths of five reptile species from the Mid North region of South Australia

Parasites in wildlife tend to be poorly studied in spite of the ecological roles they play, and even basic information such as the geographic distribution of the parasites and the hosts they infect or infest are not well known. For parasites that live within the host, part of the reason for this lack of information is that the hosts must be killed and dissected to determine which endoparasites they harbour, which has legal and/or ethical implications and limitations. These obstacles can be overcome by collecting and examining potential hosts that are found dead on roads or that are sacrificed as part of other non-related studies. In this study, our objective was to expand on our understanding of the gastrointestinal parasites of some common reptiles from an area in the vicinity of a study site in the Mid North region of South Australia by making use of snakes and large lizards that were found dead on roads or that were humanely killed for another study. Our study provides new locality and/or host species records for some parasite species.

Automated summary

Parasites in wildlife, especially those living within hosts, are poorly studied due to legal and ethical implications of dissecting hosts to determine parasites they harbor. Overcoming these obstacles involves collecting and examining dead potential hosts found on roads. This study aimed to expand understanding of gastrointestinal parasites in common reptiles by utilizing dead snakes and large lizards found near the study site in South Australia.