First report of Athesmia foxi Goldberger and Crane, 1911 (Digenea, Dicrocoeliidae) from Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815) (Carnivora, Canidae) and pathological findings

Abstract

Summary Chrysocyon brachyurus, the largest South American canid, is a native species of the Brazilian cerrado. The present study is aimed to report the occurrence of the trematode, Athesmia foxi, in the liver of a new host, C. brachyurus, and to describe its morphology and pathology. One C. brachyurus individual was necropsied and examined for the presence of parasites. Worms were collected from the bile ducts and based on morphological and morphometrical characteristics, such as a relatively large, slender, aspinose, elongated shape with vitellarium present on the upper left side of the body were identified as A. foxi. On the host, hepatic lesions limited to the bile ducts and periportal regions, were characterized as chronic-active cholangitis, biliary hyperplasia, and fibrosis. This is the first report of A. foxi parasitizing C. brachyurus, demonstrating that this parasite has no host specificity and can be widely distributed. A. foxi lesions noted in C. brachyurus are similar to those noted in various other mammalian hosts.