TITLE:
Metazoan Parasites of Geophagus proximus, a Cichlidae Fish from the Eastern Amazon (Brazil)
AUTHORS:
Marcos Sidney Brito Oliveira, Lincoln Lima Corrêa, Liliane de Araújo Castro, Letícia Silva Brito, Marcos Tavares-Dias
KEYWORDS:
Helminths, Parasites, Freshwater Fish, Tapajós River
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
31,
2017
ABSTRACT: The present study investigated the fauna of metazoan parasites of a Geophagus proximus population from the lower Tapajós River, in the state of Pará, northern Brazil. A total of 137 monogeneans were collected from the gills of G. proximus, including Sciadicleithrum kritskyi, Sciadicleithrum paranaensis and Sciadicleithrum geophagi, while 119 Raphidascaris (Sprentascaris) lanfrediae nematodes and 28 metacercariaes of digenea undetermined were collected from the intestine. Hosts harboring four species of parasites were predominant. The parasites had an aggregated dispersion pattern. The present study represents the first record of S. geophagi parasitizing G. proximus, increasing the geographic distribution of these parasite species to the Tapajós River basin.