ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mamm. Sci.
Sec. Life History and Conservation
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmamm.2025.1678138
This article is part of the Research TopicGlobal Threats to Otter Health: Parasites, Disease, and Anthropogenic StressorsView all 6 articles
Parasitological evaluation of the Neotropical otter Lontra longicaudis and the giant otter Pteronura brasiliensis: swimming in little-known waters before it is too late
Provisionally accepted
Patricia Parreira Perin1
Caroline Leuchtenberger2
Mariana Malzoni Furtado3
Livia de Almeida Rodrigues4
Grazielle Soresini4
Nathalie Foerster4
Guilherme Mourão5Wilson Junior Oliveira6Talita Oliveira Mendonça1Carmen Andrea Arias-Pacheco1Fabiana Alves Loureiro1
Estevam G. Lux Hoppe1*- 1Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São Paulo, Brazil
- 2Instituto Federal Farroupilha, Santa Maria, Brazil
- 3Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlantica, Santa Teresa, Brazil
- 4Giant Otter Conservation Fund, Arroio do Meio, Brazil
- 5Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil
- 6Fundacao para o Desenvolvimento da UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil
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Otters are top predators in aquatic ecosystems and serve as indicators of environmental health. However, knowledge of the parasitology of South American species remains limited.However, parasitological knowledge on South American species remains limited. This study investigated the endoparasitic fauna of two otter species in Brazil, the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) and the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis), to better understand their parasite diversity and the ecological interactions between hosts and parasitesto better understand their parasite diversity and the ecological interactions between host and parasites. From February 2020 to November 2021, 42 fecal samples and four carcasses (three P. brasiliensis and one L. longicaudis) from the Pantanal Ecoregion were analyzed. Coproparasitological analysis revealed the presence of parasites in 81.6% of P. brasiliensis fecal samples, with digeneans, strongylid-type, and ascarid eggs identified. Cystoisospora sp. oocysts and strongylid-type eggs were detected in the L. longicaudis fecal samples. Necropsies recovered specimens of digeneans and cestodes, including Alaria clathrata, Cryptocotyle thapari, and Spirometra sp. spargana, with the first 18S and 28S rDNA sequences for A. clathrata and C. thapari deposited in GenBankwith the first 18S and 28S rDNA sequences for A. clathrata and C. thapari Formatted: Highlight Formatted: Highlight Formatted: Highlight Formatted: Highlight Formatted: Font: Italic, Highlight Formatted: Highlight Formatted: Font: Italic, Highlight Formatted: Highlight were deposited in GenBank. These findings advance our understanding of otter–parasite dynamics in Neotropical wetlands and highlight the value of parasitological monitoring as part of conservation strategies for threatened wildlife.These findings enhance the understanding of otter-parasite dynamics in Neotropical wetlands and highlight the value of parasitological monitoring in conservation strategies for threatened wildlife.
Keywords: Neotropical otter, giant otter, Pantanal, Parasites, Helminths, Wildlife Health, fecal sampling
Received: 01 Aug 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Perin, Leuchtenberger, Furtado, Rodrigues, Soresini, Foerster, Mourão, Oliveira, Mendonça, Arias-Pacheco, Loureiro and Lux Hoppe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Estevam G. Lux Hoppe, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, São Paulo, Brazil
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