Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Caixa Postal 6.109, 13083-970. Campinas, S.P. Brasil.

Veintitrés ejemplares de Zenaida auriculata Des Murs, 1847 fueron capturados en el municipio de Junqueirópolis en la región oeste del estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Brachylaima mazzantii (Travassos, 1927) Dollfus, 1935 fue encontrado parasitando a uno de los ejemplares examinados. Este es el primer registro de este tremátodo en palomas del género Zenaida.

Key Words (Palabras clave): Brachylaima mazzantii; Trematoda; Zenaida auriculata; Brasil.

The eared dove Zenaida auriculata Des Murs, 1847, occurs mostly in South America and is commonly found in semi-open areas, agricultural fields and farms (Donatelli et al. 1995). Trematode parasites identified as Brachylaima mazzantii (Travassos, 1927) Dollfus, 1935 were found in Z. auriculata collected in the municipality of Junqueiropolis (21º31'S, 51º27'W), in the western region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil.

Adult specimens of Z. auriculata were captured using gauze-traps (Ibama, 1994) from May to July 1998 and were housed individually in appropriate cages. Fecal samples from all birds were examined under light microscopy after preparation by the Hoffman's sedimentation method.

Eleven specimens of B. mazzantii (Fig. 1) were found in the small intestine of Z. auriculata. Only one (4.3%) out of 23 specimens examined presented eggs of trematode (Figs. 2a and 2b) in feces, and was subsequently sacrificed to provide adult worms. The parasite was identified based on the morphological characteristics described by Travassos (1927), Travassos et al. (1969) and Yamaguti (1971).

Fig. 1 Brachylaima mazzantii: Drawing of an adult specimen. Bar = 0.8 mm.

Fig. 2. B. mazzantii: a) Mature eggs. b) Miracidium liberated after compression of one egg. Bar = 10 µm.

This is the fourth record of this trematode in birds of the family Columbidae, and is the first report in the genus Zenaida Bonaparte, 1838. Travassos (1927) described B. mazzantii in the intestine of Columba livia Gemlin, 1789 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lent and Freitas (1937) found the same species of parasite in the intestine of Columbina talpacoti Temminck, 1811 in Belém, Brazil. According to Yamaguti (1958), this trematode was also found in Columba cayannensis Bonnaterre, 1972 in Panama, Central America.

Although the present record of this parasite have been found in only one specimen, opening way to controversy about the possibility of an accidental parasitism, some aspects of the infection may be here considerate as suggestion of that Z. auriculata may be a natural host for this parasite: the great number of adults worms found in this dove (11 specimens); the presence of eggs in feces; The eggs presented the same dimensions when compared with Lent and Freitas (1937); all the previous occurrence of this parasite were recorded in birds from the family Columbidae and, finally, according to Aguirre (1976), although Z. auriculata feeds primarily on seeds, may also ingest small invertebrates as snails - potential intermediate hosts of this trematode.

E-mail: adrian@obelix.unicamp.br

Acknowledgments - This work was supported by CAPES. The authors grateful to Dr. Marlene Tiduko Ueta of the Departamento de Paratitologia - IB - Unicamp for critical review of this manuscript and to Eduardo Adriano and Elisa Adriano for collaboration in the field works.

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Donatelli, R.J., Andrela, S. e Santos, R. 1995. Uma metodologia para tentar minimizar o impacto de Zenaida auriculata (Aves: Columbidae) sobre as áreas de cultivo de grãos na região sudeste do Estado de São Paulo. Salusvita, 14: 21-29.         [ Links ]

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Yamaguti, S. 1958. Systema Helminthum, 1 - Part I. The digenetic trematodes of vertrebates. Interscience Publishers, Inc.. Ed, New York. 979 pp.         [ Links ]

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