First report of the air sac trematode(Digenea: Cyclocoelidae) in cracid birds from Central America: pathological findings and phylogenetic confirmation.

Abstract

An adult female great curassow (and an adult female crested guan (were examined post-mortem and found to harbour trematode flukes in their pulmonary air sacs and coelom, with severe pathological changes. Seven trematode specimens (four fromand three from) were stained with hydrochloric acid-carmine for optical microscopy, while four specimens (two from each bird species) were submitted to molecular analysis. Morphological and molecular analyses identified the specimens asPhylogenetic analysis showed thatfrom different geographical origins constitutes a single species within the subfamily Cyclocoelinae and is clearly distinct from other cyclocoelid genera. This is the first documented case ofinfecting members of the Cracidae family. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring parasitic infections in captive and free-ranging cracids under conservation programmes.