First report of leech parasitism on Gekko (Japonigekko) hokouensis Pope, 1928 (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

Ace Kevin S. Amarga; Yu-Sing Lin; Andrie Bon A. Flores

Authors

Ace Kevin S. Amarga Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.; International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN-SSC) Parasite Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.; Department of Biology, College of Science, De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila 1004, Philippines
Yu-Sing Lin Herpetology Lab, National Taiwan Normal University-Gongguan Campus, Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan.
Andrie Bon A. Flores Biodiversity Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.; Herpetology Lab, National Taiwan Normal University-Gongguan Campus, Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan.

Keywords:

Gekko, Haemadipsidae, leech, Taiwan

Abstract

Parasitism of haemadipsid leeches were commonly reported on mammals. However, it is rarely documented on herpetofauna, especially on reptiles. In this paper, we present the documentation of the haemadipsid Tritetrabdella taiwana (Oka, 1910) parasitizing Gekko (Japonigekko) hokouensis Pope, 1928 observed in northern Taiwan. Our account represents the first confirmed and reported haemadipsid parasitism on any gekkonid species in Taiwan, as well as the first record of leech parasitism on G. hokouensis.

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