{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T18:09:55Z","timestamp":1779214195361,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779148800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000038","name":"NSERC","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["RGPIN-2017-05770"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RGPIN-2017-05770"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000038","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000038","name":"NSERC","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["RGPIN-2024-05290"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RGPIN-2024-05290"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000038","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Study in Canada Scholarship"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    African clawed frogs (\n                    <jats:italic>Xenopus<\/jats:italic>\n                    species) are distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, live in water, and are hosts to diverse parasites whose distributions and host-specificities are incompletely characterized. To better understand this host\/parasite biodiversity, we used morphology and Sanger sequencing to characterize\n                    <jats:italic>Xenopus<\/jats:italic>\n                    species and their helminth parasites in several ecological zones of Nigeria. Five\n                    <jats:italic>Xenopus<\/jats:italic>\n                    species were identified in Nigeria (\n                    <jats:italic>X. fraseri<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>X. fischbergi<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>X. poweri<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>X. tropicalis<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and\n                    <jats:italic>X. calcaratus<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), and one \u2013\n                    <jats:italic>Xenopus fraseri<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2013 was found to have a wide ecological tolerance in four different savanna ecological zones. Thirteen species of helminths from two phyla and five major lineages were isolated: camallanoid and seuratoid nematodes (roundworms), and cestode, digenean, and monogenean platyhelminths (flatworms). Based on our sample, the nematodes exhibited higher host generalism than the platyhelminths by infecting several host species and occurring in a wider breadth of ecological zones. In this study, all parasite species specialized either to a specific tissue (e.g., the bladder or pericardium) or a similar pair of tissues (e.g., esophagus and stomach or the lower intestine and rectum), which underscores the distinctiveness if different tissue ecosystems within a host. This study provides novel and molecularly confirmed insights into host and parasite species diversity, distributions, and ecological specificities in several ecological zones of Nigeria. Future efforts should focus on transition zones between ecological zones in Nigeria.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0348516","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T17:38:08Z","timestamp":1779212288000},"page":"e0348516","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Distributions of Xenopus species and their helminth parasites in ecological zones of Nigeria"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Emmanuela U.","family":"Anele","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ishaya Haruna","family":"Nock","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ibrahim M. K.","family":"Gadzama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Grace S. N.","family":"Kia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tharindu","family":"Premachandra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joseph A.","family":"Jackson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Richard C.","family":"Tinsley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9512-8845","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ben J.","family":"Evans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0348516.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1186\/1741-7007-5-7","article-title":"Pair of lice lost or parasites regained: the evolutionary history of anthropoid primate lice","volume":"5","author":"DL Reed","year":"2007","journal-title":"BMC Biol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4614-7181-3_6","article-title":"Parasitic lice help to fill in the gaps of early hominid history","volume-title":"Primates, Pathogens, and Evolution","author":"JM Allen","year":"2013"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0348516.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"762","DOI":"10.1093\/sysbio\/syr078","article-title":"Correlating early evolution of parasitic platyhelminths to Gondwana breakup","volume":"60","author":"M Badets","year":"2011","journal-title":"Syst Biol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107178","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ympev.2021.107178","article-title":"Adaptive radiation and speciation in Rhipicephalus ticks: A medley of novel hosts, nested predator-prey food webs, off-host periods and dispersal along temperature variation gradients","volume":"162","author":"DK Bakkes","year":"2021","journal-title":"Mol Phylogenet Evol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107677","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ympev.2022.107677","article-title":"Historical dispersal and host-switching formed the evolutionary history of a globally distributed multi-host parasite - The Ligula intestinalis species complex","volume":"180","author":"M Nazarizadeh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mol Phylogenet Evol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref006","first-page":"117","article-title":"Dried or fried: amphibians in local and regional food markets in West Africa","volume":"22","author":"M Mohneke","year":"2010","journal-title":"TRAFFIC Bulletin"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0348516.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"507","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tig.2011.08.003","article-title":"Xenopus research: metamorphosed by genetics and genomics","volume":"27","author":"RM Harland","year":"2011","journal-title":"Trends Genet"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0348516.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0142823","article-title":"Genetics, Morphology, Advertisement Calls, and Historical Records Distinguish Six New Polyploid Species of African Clawed Frog (Xenopus, Pipidae) from West and Central Africa","volume":"10","author":"BJ Evans","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0348516.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"909","DOI":"10.1111\/mec.13076","article-title":"Pan-African phylogeography of a model organism, the African clawed frog \u2018Xenopus laevis\u2019","volume":"24","author":"BL Furman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mol Ecol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348516.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00291027","article-title":"Chromosome complements of the genus Xenopus","volume":"44","author":"J Tymowska","year":"1973","journal-title":"Chromosoma"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1005936429562","article-title":"Paramphistome digeneans from shape Xenopus species (Pipidae) in Africa: taxonomy, host-specificity and biogeography","volume":"40","author":"JA Jackson","year":"1998","journal-title":"Syst Parasitol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref012","first-page":"35","article-title":"Geographical distribution and ecology.","author":"RC Tinsley","year":"1996","journal-title":"The Biology of Xenopus. Oxford University Press Oxford"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref013","article-title":"The morphology and attachment of Protopolystoma xenopodis (Monogenea: Polystomatidae) infecting the African clawed frog","author":"M Theunissen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Parasite"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref014","first-page":"403","article-title":"Evolutionary inferences from host and parasite co-speciation.","author":"RC Tinsley","year":"1996","journal-title":"The Biology of Xenopus. Oxford University Press Oxford"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref015","first-page":"233","article-title":"Parasites of Xenopus.","author":"FC Tinsley","year":"1996","journal-title":"The Biology of Xenopus. Oxford University Press Oxford"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref016","article-title":"Parasitic disease in amphibians: control by the regulation of worm burdens","author":"RC Tinsley","year":"1995","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"issue":"7993","key":"pone.0348516.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-023-06851-6","article-title":"Author Correction: ongoing declines for the world\u2019s amphibians in the face of emerging threats","volume":"625","author":"JA Luedtke","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nature"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0348516.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"200","DOI":"10.1080\/10807039.2012.632310","article-title":"Predicting wild hosts for amphibian chytridiomycosis: integrating host life-history traits with pathogen environmental requirements","volume":"18","author":"KA Murray","year":"2012","journal-title":"Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal"},{"issue":"6772","key":"pone.0348516.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"853","DOI":"10.1038\/35002501","article-title":"Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities","volume":"403","author":"N Myers","year":"2000","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref020","volume-title":"An outline of Nigerian vegetation","author":"RWJ Keay","year":"1959"},{"issue":"6206","key":"pone.0348516.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1257469","article-title":"World population stabilization unlikely this century","volume":"346","author":"P Gerland","year":"2014","journal-title":"Science"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4314\/njpar.v41i2.12","article-title":"Helminth parasites of anurans from Zaria, Northern Guinea Savannah Zone of Nigeria","volume":"41","author":"EU Anele","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nig J Para"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref023","first-page":"50","article-title":"Pattern of parasitic infections in anurans from a mangrove community of the Niger Delta, Nigeria","volume":"13","author":"MSO Aisien","year":"2015","journal-title":"The Zoologist"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348516.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"584","DOI":"10.1093\/evolut\/qpaf246","article-title":"Persistence of an unusual triple sex chromosome system through allopolyploidization in African clawed frogs (Xenopus, subgenus Silurana)","volume":"80","author":"T Premachandra","year":"2026","journal-title":"Evolution"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0348516.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0220892","article-title":"Xenopus fraseri: Mr. Fraser, where did your frog come from?","volume":"14","author":"BJ Evans","year":"2019","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0348516.ref026","first-page":"1","article-title":"Anuran surveys in south-western Nigeria","volume":"45","author":"AB Onadeko","year":"2009","journal-title":"Salamandra"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref027","first-page":"9","article-title":"The extant species.","author":"HR Kobel","year":"1996","journal-title":"The Biology of Xenopus. Oxford University Press Oxford"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref028","article-title":"Helminth parasites of Silurana tropicalis from the Okomu National Park, Edo State, Nigeria","volume":"36","author":"AA Imasuen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nigerian J Parasitol"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0348516.ref029","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"612","DOI":"10.1086\/675756","article-title":"Coexistence of specialist and generalist species is shaped by dispersal and environmental factors","volume":"183","author":"L B\u00fcchi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Am Nat"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0348516.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"272","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1461-0248.2007.01021.x","article-title":"On the experimental evolution of specialization and diversity in heterogeneous environments","volume":"10","author":"J-N Jasmin","year":"2007","journal-title":"Ecol Lett"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0348516.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00009463","article-title":"Evolutionary relationships, host range and geographical distribution of Camallanus Railliet & Henry, 1915 species (Nematoda: Camallaninae) from clawed toads of the genus Xenopus (Anura: Pipidae)","volume":"32","author":"JA Jackson","year":"1995","journal-title":"Syst Parasitol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1011986508117","article-title":"A redescription of Chabaudus leberrei (Bain & Philippon, 1969)(Nematoda: Seuratoidea) from Xenopus spp. in Swaziland","volume":"50","author":"JA Jackson","year":"2001","journal-title":"Systematic Parasitol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348516.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1017\/S0952836901000905","article-title":"Host\u2010specificity and distribution of cephalochlamydid cestodes: correlation with allopolyploid evolution of pipid anuran hosts","volume":"254","author":"JA Jackson","year":"2001","journal-title":"Journal of Zoology"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00009512","article-title":"The genus Oligolecithus Vercammen-Grandjean (Digenea: Telorchiidae) from Xenopus spp. (Anura: Pipidae), with a description of O. siluranae n. sp. from X. tropicalis (Gray) in Ghana","volume":"32","author":"RC Tinsley","year":"1995","journal-title":"Syst Parasitol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348516.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"293","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00926569","article-title":"Polystoma lamottei n. sp. et P. aeschlimanni n. sp., deux polystomes (Monog\u00e8nes) de la m\u00eame esp\u00e8ce d\u2019amphibien: Ptychadena pumilio (Boulenger, 1920)","volume":"62","author":"R Bourgat","year":"1980","journal-title":"Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Parasitenkunde"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00009606","article-title":"Syntopic occurrence of new species of Polystoma and Metapolystoma (Monogenea: Polystomatidae) in Ptychadena porosissima in South Africa","volume":"22","author":"LH du Preez","year":"1992","journal-title":"Syst Parasitol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref037","first-page":"253","article-title":"Mortality and morbidity in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) associated with construction noise and vibrations","volume":"51","author":"SA Felt","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348516.ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"819","DOI":"10.1086\/physzool.62.3.30157929","article-title":"The physiology, morphology, and ontogeny of emetic behavior in anuran amphibians","volume":"62","author":"T Naitoh","year":"1989","journal-title":"Physiological Zoology"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref039","volume-title":"Frogs as host-parasite systems I. An introduction to parasitology through the parasites of Rana temporaria, R. esculenta and R. pipiens","author":"JD Smyth","year":"1980"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref040","volume-title":"Platyhelminth parasites of the Amphibia","author":"S Prudhoe","year":"1982"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348516.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00009115","article-title":"Representatives of Batrachocamallanus n. g. (Nematoda: Procamallaninae) from Xenopus spp. (Anura: Pipidae): geographical distribution, host range and evolutionary relationships","volume":"31","author":"JA Jackson","year":"1995","journal-title":"Syst Parasitol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1005936429562","article-title":"Paramphistome digeneans from shape Xenopus species (Pipidae) in Africa: taxonomy, host-specificity and biogeography","volume":"40","author":"JA Jackson","year":"1998","journal-title":"Syst Parasitol"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0348516.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1573","DOI":"10.1016\/S0020-7519(98)00085-X","article-title":"Correlation of parasite speciation and specificity with host evolutionary relationships","volume":"28","author":"RC Tinsley","year":"1998","journal-title":"Int J Parasitol"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0348516.ref044","first-page":"794","article-title":"Phylogenetics of fanged frogs: testing biogeographical hypotheses at the interface of the asian and Australian faunal zones","volume":"52","author":"BJ Evans","year":"2003","journal-title":"Syst Biol"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0348516.ref045","first-page":"294","article-title":"DNA primers for amplification of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates","volume":"3","author":"O Folmer","year":"1994","journal-title":"Mol Mar Biol Biotechnol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijppaw.2019.09.007","article-title":"Novel information on the morphology, phylogeny and distribution of camallanid nematodes from marine and freshwater hosts in South Africa, including the description of","volume":"10","author":"R Svitin","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Parasitol-Par"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0348516.ref047","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"945","DOI":"10.1111\/1755-0998.12358","article-title":"New primers for DNA barcoding of digeneans and cestodes (Platyhelminthes)","volume":"15","author":"N Van Steenkiste","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mol Ecol Resour"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0348516.ref048","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1006\/mpev.2000.0877","article-title":"A Paedomorphic parasite associated with a neotenic amphibian host: phylogenetic evidence suggests a revised systematic position for Sphyranuridae within anuran and turtle Polystomatoineans","volume":"18","author":"ND Sinnappah","year":"2001","journal-title":"Mol Phylogenet Evol"},{"key":"pone.0348516.ref049","volume-title":"Mesquite: a modular system for evolutionary analysis","author":"WP Maddison","year":"2025","edition":"4"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0348516.ref050","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1093\/molbev\/msu300","article-title":"IQ-TREE: a fast and effective stochastic algorithm for estimating maximum-likelihood phylogenies","volume":"32","author":"L-T Nguyen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mol Biol Evol"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0348516","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T17:38:17Z","timestamp":1779212297000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0348516"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Maria Y","family":"Pakharukova","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"editor","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0348516","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]}}}