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A review of trypanosomes of gekkonid lizards, including the description of five new species

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Abstract

Four species ofTrypanosoma were found in geckoes in Tanzania:T. lygodactyli n. sp. parasitisedLygodactylus luteopicturatus, L. grotei andHemidactylus platycephalus;T. cnemaspi n. sp. was found inCnemaspis barbouri andH. platycephalus; T. uluguruensis n. sp. was found inH. platycephalus, L. luteopicturatus, L. grotei andLygodactylus williamsi; andT. kimbozae n. sp. parasitizedH. platycephalus. Gekko gecko in Thailand was host toT. gekkonis n. sp. Evaluation of commonly used taxonomic characters found body length, maximum width and the distance between kinetoplast and anterior body margin to be least variable; most variable were length of the free flagellum, distance between kinetoplast and posterior body margin, and distance between kinetoplast and centre of the nucleus. The distance from anterior body margin to centre of the nucleus, and length and width of the nucleus, were slightly more variable than the most conservative characters but were nevertheless useful. A review of the describedTrypanosoma species from gekkonid lizards indicates that the following are valid species, although in many cases their descriptions are inadequate:T. garnhami, T. gallayi, T. platydactyli, T. pertenue, T. leschenaulti, T. petteri, T. phlebotomi, T. turcici, T. phylluri, T. ryukyuense, T. thecadactyli, T. torrealbai, T. gonatodi andT. ocumarensis. The status ofT. hemidactyli is unclear, and the identification ofT. loricatum fromHemidactylus fasciatus of The Gambia is unlikely.

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  1. The Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Sam R. Telford Jr

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  1. Sam R. Telford Jr
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Telford, S.R. A review of trypanosomes of gekkonid lizards, including the description of five new species. Syst Parasitol 31, 37–52 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00009301

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