Abstract
From December 2012 to November 2014, 267 fish belonging to the family Profundulidae (representing nine of the 11 species of the genus Profundulus) were collected in 26 localities of Middle-America, across southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, comprising the distribution range of the genus, and analyzed for helminth parasites. Additionally, a database with all ten available published accounts of the helminth parasite fauna of this genus (the only genus within the family) was assembled. Based on both sources of information, a checklist containing all the records was compiled as a tool to address future questions in the areas of evolutionary biology, biogeography, ecology and phylogeography of this host-parasite association. The helminth parasite fauna of this fish group consists of 20 nominal species, classified in 17 genera and 14 families. It includes six species of adult digeneans, five metacercariae, two monogeneans, one adult cestode, three adult nematodes and three larval nematodes. The profundulid fishes are parasitized by a specialized group of helminth species (e.g. Paracreptotrema blancoi sensu Salgado-Maldonado et al. (2011b), Paracreptotrema profundulusi Salgado-Maldonado, Caspeta-Mandujano & Martínez Ramírez, 2011, Phyllodistomum spinopapillatum Pérez-Ponce de León, Pinacho-Pinacho, Mendoza-Garfias & García-Varela, 2015, Spinitectus humbertoi Mandujano-Caspeta & Moravec, 2000, Spinitectus mariaisabelae Caspeta-Mandujano Cabañas-Carranza & Salgado-Maldonado, 2007 and Rhabdochona salgadoi Mandujano-Caspeta & Moravec, 2000), representing the core helminth fauna that are not shared with other Middle-American fish species.
Highlights
The information gathered regarding the composition of the helminth parasites of freshwater fishes of Mexico has increased in recent years (Pérez-Ponce de León and Choudhury 2010)
From December 2012 through to November 2014, 267 individual fish belonging to nine species of Profundulus, i.e. P. balsanus; P. candalarius Hubbs, 1924; P. guatemalensis (Günther, 1866); P. hildebrandi Miller, 1950; P. kreiseri Matamoros, Schaefer, Hernández & Chakrabarty, 2012; P. labialis; P. portillorum Matamoros & Schaefer, 2010; P. punctatus (Günther, 1866); and Profundulus sp. 2, were examined for helminth parasites
Fish were collected at 26 localities in southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, and a total of 267 individual fish belonging to nine species of Profundulus was examined for helminth parasites
Summary
The information gathered regarding the composition of the helminth parasites of freshwater fishes of Mexico has increased in recent years (Pérez-Ponce de León and Choudhury 2010). The species composition of the helminth fauna of some freshwater fish families, such as the Cichlidae and Goodeidae, is well known (Vidal-Martínez et al 2001; Martínez-Aquino et al 2014). The family contains a single genus (Profundulus Hubbs, 1924), the current species composition of which is a matter of debate, since some authors recognize only eight valid species (Matamoros and Schaeffer 2010; Matamoros et al 2012), whereas others (see Doadrio et al 1999: Martínez-Ramírez et al 2004) recognize P. balsanus Ahl, 1935 as a valid species, as well as two undescribed taxa, Profundulus sp. Irrespective of the species composition, all Profundulus species represent an endemic lineage in Middle-America that has probably inhabited this region since the Pliocene and perhaps even the Miocene (Miller 1955; Doadrio et al 1999; González-Diaz et al 2005; Matamoros and Schaeffer 2010)
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