Taxonomy of Some Acanthocephala from Marine Fishes with Reference to Species from Curacao, N.A., and Jamaica, W.I.

Abstract

Acanthosentis acanthuri is reported from Acanthurus caeruleus and Acanthurus hepatus from Curagao and Jamaica and encysted juveniles of Gorgorhynchus clavatus were found in Lutianus jocu in Jamaica. The genus Nipporhynchus is reduced to synonymy with Rhadinorhynchus and the family Gorgorhynchidae is declared invalid. Rhadinorhynchus pristis (Rudolphi) is redescribed from Coryphaena hippurus in Curagao and R. pristis Liihe, nec Rudolphi, is renamed R. lintoni. Rhadinorhynchus pristis var. tenuicornis is redescribed from Linton's material as R. tenuicornis, the specific name of which is unavailable for acanthocephala described as Telosentis tenuicornis, a composite species. Gorgorhynchoides elongatus gen. n., sp. n. is described from Caranx chrysos in Curagao. The genus Telosentis is restricted to T. molini and T. exiguus and Illiosentis is emended to include three new species: I. longispinus from Anisotremus virginicus in Jamaica; I. heteracanthus from Gerres cinereus, Bathygobius soporator, Labrisomus nuchipennis, and Platophrys ocellatus in Curagao; and I. ctenorhynchus from Upeneus martinicus in Jamaica. During 1961, seven species of acanthocephala were found in marine fishes examined in Curagao, Netherlands Antilles, and Jamaica, West Indies. Six occurred in the intestine as mature or near-mature specimens and one as encysted juveniles. Living worms, including juveniles removed from their cysts, were placed in tap water, refrigerated until turgid and the proboscis was not withdrawn when touched, and then fixed in corrosive sublimate-acetic acid. Thereafter, they were washed, passed through alcohols to 70%, treated with iodine, and stored in 70% alcohol for later preparation. In that process, the worms were stained with Harris' hematoxylin, dehydrated and cleared very gradually in dilutions of absolute alcohol with methyl salicylate, followed by graded mixtures of terpineol and xylodamar. Even then, some specimens collapsed or became opaque when prepared as whole mounts, probably because the trunk was not pricked before clearing. All figures were drawn by microprojection and measurements are in milli-