First data on the parasite fauna of the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758) in Lithuania

Abstract

The Eurasian otter Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758) is a semi-aquatic mustelid belonging to subfamily Lutrinae. Its range covers parts of three continents: Europe, Asia and North Africa. The Eurasian Otter is protected species according to international legislation and conventions. Since 2004 otter is listed as “Near Threatened” by the IUCN Red List. The otter is becoming an increasingly frequent object of parasitological studies. Parasites act as a factor which could have an impact of otter population dynamic, therefore the knowledge’s of parasites could play an important role in species protection. Today Eurasian otter population covered about 95% territory in Lithuania, however, no parasites were previously reported from the country. The aim of this study was to explore the parasite fauna of otters in Lithuania for the fi rst time. Six road-killed Eurasian otters collected between 2016–2017 were examined for helminths using the total helminthological examination of individual organs (Ivashkin et al., 1971). Spleen samples of otters were tested by PCR for the presence of Filaria, Borrelia, Babesia, Anaplasma, and Hemotropic Mycoplasma. A total four species or higher taxa of helminths were recorded: fl ukes Pseudamphistomum truncatum (Rudolphi, 1819), Isthmiophora melis (Schrank, 1788) Lühe, 1909, and Phyllodistomum folium (Olfers, 1816), and nematodes unidentifi ed to the species level. Mycoplasma sp. was detected in four otter spleen samples. Comparison of the partial 16S rRNA gene with all sequences in GenBank showed 100% similarity with Mycoplasma sp. from red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (Accession number KY175160.1) collected from Slovakia.