Host-parasite relationships of Zootoca vivipara (Sauria: Lacertidae) in the Pyrenees (North Spain)

The helminths infesting the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara (Jacquin, 1787), were studied with special attention to the relations between the number of nematodes, Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Goeze, 1782), and the size, sex and age class of the host. The possible seasonality of the parasite intensity and the relationship with the feeding habits of the host were also tested. Helminth infracommunities of Z. vivipara were depauperate with lizards harbouring only two species, the trematode Plagiorchis molini (Lent et Freitas, 1940) and the nematode O. filiformis. A positive correlation between host size and the number of O. filiformis was found for female Z. vivipara. However, no correlation was detected between intensity and sex or age class. The feeding habits of Z. vivipara, the isolation of the population studied and the low level of interaction with other reptilian or amphibian species are suggested as the causes of the depauperate helminth infracommunities found in this lacertid lizard.