Blood parasites infecting the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), a unique neotropical folivorous bird.

ABSTRACT: The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is the only extant member of the order Opisthocomiformes. This unique South American bird lives in the riparian lowland vegetation characteristic of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Hoatzins nest in communal social units close to water bodies; they are strictly folivores being the only bird with pregastric fermentation in the crop. Because of the complex logistics involved in capturing this bird, there is a knowledge gap on its parasites. This study documents two distant lineages of haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium spp.) in a juvenile and two adults sampled in the Cojedes state, Venezuela. Although negative by microscopy, the parasite identification was possible by using molecular methods. We estimated the phylogenetic relationships on the parasite cytoc

SUBMITTER: Pacheco MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6368046 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature