Gyrostigma rhinocerontis (Diptera: Oestridae, Gasterophilinae) in white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) imported from South Africa: occurrence in Itatiba, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract: Fly larvae from the Gasterophilinae subfamily of the Oestridae family are parasites of domestic (equine) and wild (rhinos and equine) odd-hoofed ungulates (Perissodactyla). The gastric parasite of African Rhinos is Gyrostigma rhinocerontis (formerly Gyrostigma pavesii), which in its larva phase can be found in the feces of their hosts and can reach 40mm length. The adult is the largest fly in Africa, reaching 41mm long, with 71-mm wingspan. The Gyrostigma genus does not occur naturally in Brazil. There is one previous report of the occurrence of its larvae in the feces of a white rhino brought from South Africa in the 1990's, which was housed in a zoo located in Rio Grande do Sul. The present paper furnishes data from a zoo of the city of Itatiba, São Paulo state, Brazil, where Gyrostigma rhinocerontis larvae were found in 2005 in the feces of a group of white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) legally imported from South Africa. The rhinos were kept in a breeding and preservation farm. This paper also reports the measures taken to control the case and avoid the dissemination of the parasite, calling attention to the fact of globalization, which allows international and intercontinental transit of wild animals with potential risks of adaptation of exotic parasites to new ecosystems.