First record of Hysterothylacium sp. Moravec, Kohn et Fernandes, 1993 larvae (Nematoda: Anisakidae) infecting the ornamental fish Hyphessobrycon eques Steindachner, 1882 (Characiformes, Characidae).

Aa Acosta,Rj Silva

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.19913

Abstract

This study reports for the first time infection with Hysterothylacium sp. larvae in the ornamental fish Hyphessobrycon eques from the Paranapanema River, Jurumirim Reservoir, São Paulo State, Brazil. A sample of 33 specimens of H. eques was collected in October, 2011. Four specimens of H. eques were parasitized by Hysterothylacium sp. larvae in the intestine and coelomic cavity, with prevalence of 12.1%, mean intensity of infection of 1, and mean abundance of 0.121 ± 0.05. A total of 40 unidentified free-living nematodes were found in the stomach content of 17 fish. This fish species is introduced in the Paranapanema River. Invasive species may affect the native fauna given the introduction of pathogens and parasites. This study also complements data on the diet of H. eques due to the records of free-living nematode as part of the stomach content. Infections with Hysterothylacium sp. larvae may affect the biology of this fish and bring about profit losses to aquarists.

Highlights

Hyphessobrycon Durbin, 1908 is a genus of the family Characidae that ranks the second place in number of valid species (Eschmeyer and Fong, 2011)
Thereby, the knowledge about the parasites that can be harbored in fishes and the aspects linked with taxonomy, ecology and biology can assist the development of prevention and treatment (Eiras et al, 2010)
This study reports for the first time infections with Hysterothylacium sp. larvae in H. eques from the Paranapanema River, Jurumirim Reservoir, São Paulo State, Brazil

Summary

Introduction

Hyphessobrycon Durbin, 1908 is a genus of the family Characidae that ranks the second place in number of valid species (Eschmeyer and Fong, 2011). Studies with H. eques have been conducted under different approaches: ornamental use (Pan et al, 2011; Morais, 2013), feeding behavior (Carvalho and Del-Claro, 2004), association with macrophytes (Pelicice et al, 2005), indicator of water quality (Carraschi et al, 2011), and diet (Casatti et al, 2003; Crippa et al, 2009; Santana-Porto and Andrian, 2009); the study of Fujimoto et al (2013) is the only assessment on its parasite fauna These last authors recorded seasonal occurrence of Quadrigyrus nickoli Schmidt and Hugghins, 1973 cystacanths in H. eques from the Chumucuí River, Pará State, Brazil. This study reports for the first time infections with Hysterothylacium sp. larvae in H. eques from the Paranapanema River, Jurumirim Reservoir, São Paulo State, Brazil

Material and Methods

Results

Discussion