Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Helminth Parasites Of Anoles

Ok, not a parasitic worm of anoles, but it got your attention! Photo from http://childhealthproblems.com/images/head-of-helminth.jpg

In a gargantuan recent paper in Comparative Parasitology, Bursey, Goldberg, Telford and Vitt report new data for 13 Central American anoles and summarize what is known about helminths through all of anoledom. Before getting into the details, though, it may help some of our readers to explain what a helminth is. In short, helminths are parasitic worms, such as nematodes, flukes, and tapeworms; anoles—and many other animals—are commonly infested with them.

Prior to this study, helminths had only been reported in 10 Central American anoles. However, taking advantage of the collections of Telford and Vitt, dating back to late 1950’s, the researchers examined 426 anoles of 13 species, basically opening up museum specimens to see what surprises awaited. The result was 1026 parasites found in 173 of the specimens. No individual lizard had more than four species, but in sum, 29 parasites were found. Species ranged from 1-12 parasites, and 55 new host records were documented. Overlap in parasite species among anole species was variable, and anoles in some microhabitats seemed more prone to parasites than others. The helminths found in anoles generally are also found in many other species of reptiles and amphibians.

The first two authors on this paper have published extensively on the parasites of anoles and other reptiles. Based to a large extent on their work, as well as many others, helminth records now exist for 95 anole species. This study indicates that Central American anoles have a distinctive helminth community compared to that of anoles elsewhere in their range.

More generally, this paper reviews what we know about these parasites and is the go-to reference for anyone interested in the helminth parasites of anoles.

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Jonathan Losos

Professor of Biology and Director of the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in Saint Louis. I've spent my entire professional career studying anoles and have discovered that the more I learn about anoles, the more I realize I don't know.

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