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Current Herpetology
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Abstract
Abstract:
The first survey was conducted for helminth fauna of hybrid giant salamanders (hybrids between Andrias japonicus and other congeneric species), and introduced A. davidianus in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Three nematode species, Spiroxys hanzaki, Amphibiocapillaria tritonispunctati and Falcaustra sp., and one trematode species, Liolope copulans, were recovered from their alimentary canals. These results show that hybrid and introduced Andrias species are commonly infected with similar helminth species to those previously reported to infect A. japonicus. We conclude that the spillback of native parasites to introduced A. davidianus has occurred in Kyoto Prefecture. This study is also the first record of Falcaustra species parasitizing Andrias species in Japan.
We thank Ms. M. Yoshimura (KUHE) for helping dissection of the animals. We thank everyone who participated in the survey of the salamanders around the Kamo River for securing the hybrid salamander used in this study. The procedure in this study followed the guideline of animal experiments in Kyoto University (approval no. 29-A-7). The present study was conducted under the permits issued by the Japan Agency of Cultural Affairs to K. Nishikawa for research in Kyoto City (No. 420) and in Kyoto Prefecture (No. 710).
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