Helminth parasites in freshwater fish from the Papaloapan river basin, Mexico

Abstract

A checklist based on previously published records and original data is presented for the helminth parasites reported in 35 fish species from nine families from the Rio Papaloapan basin, east Mexico. The checklist contains 85 taxa from 39 helminth families. Trematodes and nematodes were the most abundant taxonomic groups. The helminth fauna in the fish of the Papaloapan River basin predominantly consists of Neotropical species that are largely autogenic. The introduced species Centrocestus formosanus was the most widely distributed helminth, infecting 16 host species. Ten of the recorded helminth species have only been found in fish from the Papaloapan. This inventory contributes 157 new host records, and reports the presence of 30 helminth species in the Papaloapan for the first time . This inventory shows the richness of helminth parasite species in the fish of the Papaloapan River basin in comparison with the other hydrological basins in Mexico. It also demonstrates that this fauna is typically Neotropical and quite similar to that from the neighboring basins of the Grijalva-Usumacinta system and the Yucatan Peninsula. The data also suggest highly effective transmission between environments within the same basin and that the regional parasite fauna is strongly influenced by fish community composition.