Acanthoatractis xinguensis n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Cosmocercoidea: Atractidae) parasite of yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle, Podocnemis unifilis Troschel (Testudines: Podocnemididae) in Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Nematodes collected from the stomach of the yellow-spotted turtle Podocnemis unifilis Troschel, 1848 (Testudinidae) in the Brazilian state of Pará are assigned to a new genus, allocated to the family Atractidae (Cosmocerdoidea). Acanthoatractis n. gen. differs from all other genera of Atractidae based on the combination of the following morphological characters: cephalic extremity surrounded by eight bifurcated, wrench-shaped sclerotized structures arranged in a circle; oral opening encircled by two sclerotized pieces with pointed ends and a median portion with a pair of hooks; in males the larger (left) spicule is narrower in the middle third and the gubernaculum is absent. The type species, Acanthoatractis xinguensis n. gen., n. sp., has nine pairs of caudal papillae and a single papilla anterior to the cloacal lip. The new species is the seventh record of an atractid genus parasitizing P. unifilis.