Tucunarella n. gen. and Other Dactylogyrids (Monogenoidea) From Cichlid Fish (Perciformes) From Peruvian Amazonia

Abstract

During parasitological research on cichlid fish from the tributaries of the Amazon River around Iquitos, Peru, the following gill monogenoidean species were found: Tucunarella cichlae n. gen. and n. sp. from Cichla monoculus Spix and Agassiz; Gussevia alioides Kritsky, Thatcher, and Boeger, 1986 from Heros severus Heckel; Gussevia asota Kritsky, Thatcher, and Boeger, 1989 from Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz); Gussevia disparoides Kritsky, Thatcher, and Boeger, 1986 from H. severus (all new geographical records) and Cichlasoma amazonarum Kullander (new host record); Gussevia longihaptor (Mizelle and Kritsky, 1969) Kritsky, Thatcher, and Boeger, 1986 and Gussevia undulata Kritsky, Thatcher, and Boeger, 1986 from C. monoculus ; Sciadicleithrum satanopercae Yamada, Takemoto, Bellay, and Pavanelli, 2008 from Satanoperca jurupari Heckel; and Sciadicleithrum variabilum (Mizelle and Kritsky, 1969) Kritsky, Thatcher, and Boeger, 1989 from C. amazonarum (new host and geographical records). Tucunarella n. gen. is proposed to accommodate a new species, Tucunarella cichlae , which is its type and only known species in the genus. The new genus is characterized by, besides a very large body size (about 1.5 mm vs. much less than 1 mm in other ancyrocephaline genera in Amazonia), a thickened tegument, 1 pair of eyes, overlapping gonads (testis dorsal to the germarium), nonarticulated male copulatory organ (MCO) and accessory piece, a coiled (counterclockwise) MCO, a dextral vaginal aperture, a haptor armed with 2 pairs of anchors (each with broad base and subequal roots, which are marginally folded), and dorsal and ventral bars and 14 hooks with protruding blunt thumbs and 2 different shapes (slender vs. slightly expanded shanks). Illustrations and data on morphological and biometric variability of individual species from different hosts are provided. The present data provide evidence of a relatively wide host specificity of gill monogenoideans parasitic in South American cichlids.