Nematofauna of red piranha Pygocentrus nattereri (Kner, 1958) (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae) from Amazonia, Brazil.

Aprígio Mota Morais,Melissa Querido Cárdenas,José Celso De Oliveira Malta

doi:10.1590/s1984-29612019055

Aprígio Mota Morais, Melissa Querido Cárdenas + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1984-29612019055

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Abstract

Between March and October 2008, 355 specimens of Pygocentrus nattereri were collected from the lowland lakes of Central Amazonia, Brazil, to study their nematode fauna. A total of 1.116 specimens of Nematoda were collected, belonging to six species. Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus was the species with the highest parasite indices. Larvae of Anisakis sp. have zoonotic potential and were found parasitizing the intestine and liver of Pygocentrus nattereri. Some of these nematode species were new records for the host P. nattereri. The diversity of nematodes that use P. nattereri as a host indicates the important role of this fish species in the maintenance of these six nematode species in the lowland lakes of Central Amazonia.

Highlights

South America is undoubtedly a region where parasite biodiversity is clearly underestimated
The great ichthyological diversity of the region shows the huge dimension of the challenge for basic knowledge of helminth fauna from fish in this continent (LUQUE & POULIN, 2007)
The nematodes collected were washed in 0.65% NaCl solution, fixed in hot AFA (2% glacial acetic acid, 3% formaldehyde and 95% ethanol 70°GL) and for light microscopical examination (LM) they were cleared in phenol, according to Eiras et al (2000)

Summary

Introduction

South America is undoubtedly a region where parasite biodiversity is clearly underestimated. The great ichthyological diversity of the region shows the huge dimension of the challenge for basic knowledge of helminth fauna from fish in this continent (LUQUE & POULIN, 2007). The Amazon basin is a center of diversity for most groups of Neotropical fish and it is an area of high species richness. Conservative estimates suggest there are about 3,000 fish species in this basin (ALBERT & REIS, 2011; JUNK, 2013; FROESE & PAULY, 2019; SANTOS & TAVARES-DIAS, 2017). Parasites have been recognized as an important component of global biodiversity (POULIN & MORAND, 2004).

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