The hemoflagellates of sloths vermilinguas (Anteaters), and armadillos.

Abstract

Hemoflagellates found in sloths, vermUinguas (neotropical anteaters), and armadillos are listed and their taxonomic status, vectors, distribution and importance to man are discussed. Sloths, particularly two-toed sloths Choloepus, harbor the greatest variety of hemoflagellates and in Panamá the two-toed sloth is the major vertebrate host of Leishmania braziliensis panamensis which causes cutaneous leishmaniasis in man. In the Amazon region the common long-nosed armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus is infected with a Leishmania not yet isolated from man. Two-toed sloths appear to be the major reservoir of L. b. guyanensis in northern Pará, Brazil, and in French Guiana. In an endemic "pian-bois" region of Pará, Tamanduá anteaters are important secondary reservoirs. Ali the Leishmania of sloths, anteaters and armadillos that have been studied in sandflies are peripylarians, a type of Leishmania found in New World mammals, and it is suggested that this group may have evolved in xenarthrans. The genus Endotrypanum is intermediate between Leishmania and Trypanosoma and has retained certain features of its leishmanial ancestors in the vector, but in its vertebrate host it develops in the epimastigotic form and in rare situations the trypanomorphic form. Phlebotomine sandflies are the most probable vectors of xenarthran Leishmania and Endotrypanum. In drier, more open, áreas of Panamá, sloths are commonly infected with Trypanosoma leuwenhoeki, which may be responsible for some of the ran^e/í-like infections in man. Common long-nosed armadillos are commonly infected with T. cruzi, but Brazilian stocks of this parasite belong to a zymodeme that is only rarely found in man. Separate lines of T. cruzi may have evolved in xenarthrans and marsupials from a New World insect leptomonad stock. There are enormous gaps in our knowledge of xenarthran hemoflagellates but it is recommended that particular priority be given to the isolation and characterization of stocks from the numerous hosts found in different geographical regions.