New species of Anacanthorus (Dactylogyridae: Anacanthorinae) from the gills of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and Erythrinus erythrinus (Characiformes: Erythrinidae) of the coastal drainage in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil

Species of Anacanthorus are described from the gills of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and Erythrinus erythrinus of drainage systems in the Northeastern Pará State, Brazil. Anacanthorus scyphophallus sp. n. has a male copulatory organ (MCO) with two small flaps in the distal portion; hooks with proximal shank dilatation comprising ½ of the shank length. Anacanthorus ataidei sp. n. has an elongated MCO, with ribbon-like ornaments; hooks without proximal shank dilatation. Anacanthorus siphonocommus sp. n. has an MCO with aculeiform ornaments in the distal portion; hooks with proximal dilatation in the shank comprising ½ of the shank length. Anacanthorus maratininguensis sp. n. has an MCO with a small projection in the form of a hook in the distal region; hooks with proximal dilatation comprising ½ of the shank length. Anacanthorus lacinimentulatus sp. n. has an MCO with extrovert flap skirting its distal region; shank of hooks with proximal dilatation comprising ½ of the total shank length. Anacanthorus cururutuiensis sp. n. presents an MCO with flexed lateral flap in the distal region; hooks with proximal dilatation in the shank comprising ¼ of the shank length. Anacanthorus circumspatulatus sp. n. has an MCO with ornaments in the form of pointed and interleaved blades; hooks with proximal shank dilatation comprising approximately ½ of the shank length. Anacanthorus acrophallus sp. n. has MCO with a small pointed sinistral flap; hooks with proximal dilatation in the shank comprising 1/3 of the shank length. The host-parasite diversity scenario and specificity of Anacanthorus species regarding their characiform hosts are also discussed in this study.

Comparison of the endoparasite fauna of Hoplias malabaricus and Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (Erythrinidae), sympatric hosts in the eastern Amazon region (Brazil)

Summary Hoplias malabaricus and Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus are Erythrinidae family widely distributed in the Amazon River system of great value to both commercial and subsistence fishing for riverine populations. As such, the objective of the present study was to investigate the endoparasite communities of H. malabaricus and H. unitaeniatus of a tributary of the Amazon River in the north of Brazil. The endoparasite communities of H. unitaeniatus and H. malabaricus were taxonomically similar (85%) and consisted of Clinostomum marginatum, Contracaecum sp., Guyanema seriei seriei, Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus, Pseudoproleptus sp. and Gorytocephalus spectabilis, although the dominant endoparasite was C. marginatum, which was the most prevalent and abundant. All the specimens of both H. malabaricus and H. unitaeniatus were parasitized, with a total of 1237 helminths collected in the former host and 1151 helminths collected in the latter. Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus possessed greater parasite species richness. Both hosts had an aggregate dispersion of parasites, and the abundance of C. marginatum, Contracaecum sp. and G. spectabilis correlated positively with the weight and length of the hosts. The condition factor was not affected by parasitism, but the abundance of C. marginatum and Contracaecum sp. increased when the condition factor of the hosts decreased. This is the first report of G. seriei seriei for H. malabaricus and Pseudoproleptus sp. for H. unitaeniatus.

Trematodos en Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (Erythrinidae) «Shuyo» y Pterodoras granulosus (Doradidae) «Cahuara» del Distrito de Yurimaguas, Provincia Alto Amazonas, Loreto, Perú

Se analizaron cinco especímenes de Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus «shuyo» (Erythrinidae) y uno de Pterodoras granulosus «cahuara» (Doradidae) del distrito de Yurimaguas, Alto Amazonas, Región Loreto (Perú) en febrero de 2014. Se encontró una larva del trematodo Ithyoclinostomum dimorphum y 13 de Sphincterodiplostomum musculosum en H. unitaeniatus en la superficie visceral y 18 adultos de Dadaytrema oxycephala en el intestino de P. granulosus. Se registran por primera vez para el Perú las metacercarias de I. dimorphum y S. musculosum. H. unitaeniatus es un nuevo hospedero para S. musculosum. Se da a conocer a Dadaytrema oxycephala en P. granulosus en el Perú.

Comparative Cytogenetics of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (Agassiz, 1829) (Characiformes, Erythrinidae) Species Complex from Different Brazilian Hydrographic Basins

Chromosomal characteristics of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus populations from 5 Brazilian river basins, namely Arinos (Amazonas basin), Araguaia, Paraguai, Alto Paraná, and São Francisco were analyzed by conventional Giemsa staining, C-banding, silver nitrate impregnation, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S and 5S rDNA and telomeric sequence (TTAGGG)n probes. The diploid chromosome number was 2n = 48 in representatives of the populations from Paraguai and Alto Paraná River basins and 2n = 52 for those from the Arinos and Araguaia River basins. The São Francisco population had individuals with 2n = 50 and 52 occurring in sympatry. C-banding showed heterochromatic blocks mainly located at interstitial and pericentromeric positions in most of the chromosomes. Silver nitrate impregnation demonstrated simple NORs for representatives from Arinos and Araguaia River populations and multiple NORs for specimens from Paraguai, Alto Paraná, and São Francisco River populations. FISH with 18S and 5S rDNA probes revealed many chromosomes carrying these cistrons, with up to 21 chromosomes bearing 18S rDNA sites (Alto Rio Paraná basin) and up to 12 chromosomes with 5S rDNA sites (Paraguai basin), besides the occurrence of colocalization in all populations. FISH with telomeric sequence (TTAGGG)n detected sites in the terminal portion of the chromosomes in all populations. These data reinforce the idea that H. unitaeniatus is a species complex. Evolutionary and biogeographical aspects of the group in the Neotropical region are discussed.

Seasonal pattern in parasite infracommunities of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and Hoplias malabaricus (Actinopterygii: Erythrinidae) from the Brazilian Amazon

The present study investigated the effects of seasonal variation in parasites infracommunities of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and Hoplias malabaricus from a tributary of Amazon River. For H. unitaeniatus and H. malabaricus, 11 parasite species were similar, and greatest parasite richness occurred during the rainy season. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis was the dominant parasite species for both hosts. In H. unitaeniatus, infection by Whittingtonocotyle caetei, Whittingtonocotyle jeju, Urocleidoides sp. and Anacanthorus sp. was higher during rainy season. Contracaecum sp., Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus, Nomimoscolex matogrossensis and Gorytocephalus spectabilis showed no seasonal pattern. For H. unitaeniatus, P. pillulare, Clinostomum marginatum and Argulus pestifer occurred only during dry season, while Trichodina sp., Dolops geayi, undetermined metacercariae and Posthodiplostomum sp. occurred only during the rainy season. In H. malabaricus, the prevalence of Urocleidoides eremitus was similar during the two seasons, but abundance was higher during the rainy season. Tetrahymena sp., C. marginatum, Dendrorchis neivai, undetermined metacercariae, Posthodiplostomum sp., Genarchella genarchella, Cystidicoloides sp., G. spectabilis, D. geayi, A. pestifer and Glossiphonidae gen. sp. occurred only during the dry season. However, Contracaecum sp. and P. (S.) inopinatus occurred during both seasons, but the prevalence of P. (S.) inopinatus was higher during the rainy season. Seasonal variation in this infection levels was due to the host’s feeding behavior and habits and the availability of infectious forms of parasites with heteroxenic life cycles. The non-seasonal fluctuation detected are likely a result of the parasites biology, highly variable nature of this tributary of Amazon River and low abundance of parasites.

Structure of the parasites communities in two Erythrinidae fish from Amazon river system (Brazil)

This study compared the parasite communities of Hoplias malabaricus and Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus from Amazon river system. Hoplias malabaricus were infected by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Piscinoodinium pillulare, Tetrahymena sp., Urocleidoides eremitus, Braga patagonica, metacercariae of Clinostomum marginatum, Procamallanus(Spirocamallanus) inopinatus, larvae of Contracaecum sp. and larvae of Nomimoscolex matogrossensis. Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus were also infected by these same species of protozoans, nematodes, digeneans and cestodes, except for Tetrahymena sp. and B. patagonica, which were replaced by Argulus pestifer, Urocleidoides sp., Whittingtonocotylecaetei, Whittingtonocotyle jeju and Gorytocephalus spectabilis. For both hosts, I. multifiliis and P. pillulare were the predominant parasites. Most of the parasites presented an overdispersion. Parasite species richness, Brillouin diversity, evenness and Berger-Parker dominance were similar for the two hosts. The length and weight of H. malabaricusshowed a positive correlation with the abundance of U. eremitusand Contracaecum sp., while the weight of H. unitaeniatus showed a positive correlation with the abundance of I. multifiliis. The diversity of ectoparasites seemed to be influenced by the behavior of these two hosts. This was shown by the similar parasite communities and was characterized by low species diversity, low evenness and low richness, and by a high prevalence of ectoparasites.