Parasitological and Biochemical Studies on Chalcides ocellatus Inhabiting Damietta Region

Document Type : Original articles

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Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Damietta University, Egypt

Abstract

At least 400 species of reptiles occur in Egypt, however little attention has been given to their parasite community. In this paper, we tried to address the intestinal parasite funa in the lizard chalcides ocellatus and the effect of parasitic infection on its blood biochemical parameters. Lizards were collected from both costal and agricultural regions in Damietta region during three different periods. Our extensive search for parasites infecting this lizard showed that parapharyngodon bulbous is a dominant endoparasite of this lizard. In addition to determining the prevalence of this nematode, the changes in the concentration of different blood parameters and the correlation between parasite prevalence and these parameters were investigated. Data showed that there is no difference in the prevalence of parasites between costal and agricultural regions, but the prevalence of parasites differed from one season to another. With respect to the blood biochemical parameters, our results showed that the concentration of serum triglycerides, cholesterol, calcium, sodium and glucose were higher in lizards collected from costal region, while serum HDL-cholesterol, total protein and albumin concentrations were higher in lizards collected from agricultural region. A positive and negative relation between the parasite prevalence and a number of biochemical parameters was also recorded.

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