Parasitological Survey of Breeding Japanese Giant Salamanders（Andrias japonicus）in a Zoological Garden

Abstract

A parasitological survey of the carcasses and feces of breeding Japanese giant salamanders （Andrias japonicus） kept in Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, Japan, was performed. We detected four nematodes, Spiroxys sp., Kathlaniidae gen. sp.,　Physalopteroidea fam. gen. sp., Capillariidae gen. sp., and; a trematode Liolope copulans; two protozoans, Balantidium sp. and Eimeria spp.. This is the first record of these genera in the Japanese giant salamander. A brief discussion of the health problems and pathology of captive salamanders caused by the parasitic helminths found in this survey is included.