Materials for the helminth fauna of fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1761) (Amphibia: Anura) in the Saratov region

For the first time information on helminths of the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1761) from natural biocoenoses of in Saratov region is given. In 2012, 24 specimens of amphibians from the Medveditsa River floodplain in the vicinity of the Atkarsk city were examined by full helminthological autopsy. A total of 6 helminth species from two classes were registered: Trematoda (5) and Chromadorea (1). All helminth species for the given host are registered for the first time in the studied region. A parasite specific to Bombina, the trematode Pneumonoeces variegatus abbreviatus (Rudolphi, 1819) [=Haematoloechus abbreviatus (Bychowsky, 1932)], was found. The helminth community structure is complex: biohelminthes (trematodes) dominate; nematodes are represented by a single species from the geohelminth group. High host infestation with metacercariae Tylodelphys excavata (Rudolphi, 1803) and Paralepoderma cloacicola (Luhe, 1909) is characteristic. Peculiarities of composition, structure and infestation of helminths are explained by peculiarities of biology, ecology and probably physiology of the host.