A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE GASTROINTESTINAL HELMINTH PARASITES OF TOADS (AMIETOPHYRNUS REGULARIS)

A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE GASTROINTESTINAL HELMINTH PARASITES OF TOADS (AMIETOPHYRNUS REGULARIS)

Abstract 

An amphibian belonging to the Bufonidae family is called Amietophyrnus regularis, also known as Bufo regularis. The English name for Amietophyrnus regularis is “African Common Toad” (IUCN, 2012). While most frogs typically live in or near water, several species known as genuine toads have warty, fatty bodies and may survive in drier climes (Nworah and Olorunfemi, 2011).They are common in the tropics, particularly in savannas, montane areas, grasslands, and forests, and they are useful animals to keep in backyard gardens and on farms. Toads serve as environmental indicators and play a part in the cycle of nutrients. When toads metamorphose and move from aquatic to terrestrial environments, nutrients are recycled. Fish and other aquatic species rely heavily on tadpoles, the swimming larval forms of toads and frogs that hatch from fertilized eggs in water (Towle, 1989; New World Encyclopaedia, 2008).