Helminths parasitising endemic geckoes from Canary Islands

Abstract

Parasitological studies on geckoes in Europe are scarce but there are even fewer in the Canary Islands. A complete survey of the helminth communities of Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri, T. b. hierrensis, T. gornerensis, T. delalandii and T. angustirnentalis (Sauria, Lacertidae) in the Canary Islands, Spain, was recently carried out. Larval cestodes constitute a significant part of the helminth community parasitising geckoes. Helminth fauna on insular geckoes is similar but not identical to continental fauna. The low values in richness, abundance and diversity indices of species suggest that infracommunities of Canary geckoes are depauperate and isolationist.