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High Rate of Endoparasites (Helminth) Infection of Toad (Anurans) in the Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

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Abstract

The results emphasise the significance of further studies in the Dir Lower to get well understanding of the helminth parasites with ecological relations of their hosts. Twenty-seven specimens of Bufo stomaticus (Lutken, 1864) (Anura: Bufonidae) were collected in the Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in the period from April to August 2016, and examined for helminths (endoparasites) parasites. Twelve (44.44%) specimens were infected by two types of helminths parasites. Total of forty-one helminths parasites were collected, among them six were identified Cestode and the remaining thirty-five were nematodes. The dominant parasites were nematodes (Cosmocerca sp. with 56.09% followed by Cosmocercoides sp. with 29.26%). But the Cestodes were found with single species (Nematotania dispar with 14.63%). Female toads showed higher parasite diversity than male toads.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The first author is grateful to the Department of Zoology, University of Malakand, Pakistan for providing laboratory facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

    A. U. Khan & Sh. Khalid

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Malakand, Malakand, Pakistan

    M. Attaullah & W. Khan

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    A. Waris

  4. Department of Zoology, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Pakistan

    A. Baset

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  1. A. U. Khan
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  2. M. Attaullah
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Correspondence to A. Baset.

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Khan, A.U., Attaullah, M., Khan, W. et al. High Rate of Endoparasites (Helminth) Infection of Toad (Anurans) in the Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Inland Water Biol 14, 121–124 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995082921010041

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