This study describes aspects of infection caused by Myxozoa of the genus Henneguya sp. in gills of fish belonging to the species Metynnis hypsauchen. Two sampling were made in the Capim river, close to the Ribeira community, in the municipality of Ipixuna do Pará, State of Pará, Brazil, during the months of August 2018 and March 2019. The animals were captured and transported live to the Laboratório de Pesquisa Carlos Azevedo, at the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA), in Belém, Pará, Brazil. The animals were examined, and after parasitism was confirmed, Differential Interference Contrast Microscopes were used, to evaluate the parasite spores. Ziehl-Neelsen stain techniques were used in histology. Necroscopic analyses of Metynnis hypsauchen specimens found parasites in 80% of the hosts (16/20), with whitish-colored cysts in the branchial filaments, containing mature spores of the genus Henneguya. The histopathological analysis indicated large areas with cystic lesions with associated ischemic necrosis. The descriptions from this study indicate that the parasite drastically compromises the host's respiratory system. Additionally, it is worth noting that parasite fauna studies of fishes in the Capim river are still a vast topic for research; this is the first record of infection by Henneguya sp. in Metynnis hypsauchen, captured in the Capim river in Ipixuna do Pará.

In their natural habitat, fish are constantly threatened by icthyoparasites, notably those from the Phylum Cnidaria, Hatschek, 1888, represented by species of the Myxozoa, responsible for infections in fish that cause complications to their health that can lead to death. Among these parasites, the genus Myxobolus Butschli, 1882 is responsible for the largest number of infections described in fishes from the Americas. This study describes the morphological and histopathological aspects of parasitism by Myxobolus sp. in specimens of Metynnis hypsauchen, obtained from the Capim river, in the municipality of Ipixuna do Pará, Pará, Brazil. During the months of August and March, 2018, 20 animals were captured, euthanized and autopsied. With the aid of a stereomicroscope an external and internal investigation was performed on the animals for the purpose of finding lesions or parasitic cysts, followed by confirmation of infection in Light Microscopy (ML). Cysts and Fragments from parasitized tissues were processed using techniques for histology and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). For histology they were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (H-E) and Ziehl-Neelsen and for SEM Micrographs were captured, using equipment from the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. The prevalence of parasitism was 60% (12/20) of the specimens, and the cysts were in the epithelium and lumen of the renal tubules, causing histopathological changes. The characteristics of the parasite spores are those associated with the genus Myxobolus, with an ellipsoid format, two polar capsules and a sporoplasm region. It was possible to confirm a high parasite load of Myxobolus, with compromised renal functions. This study is the first to describe Myxospore in Metynnis hypsauchen.

We used a combination of morphological, molecular and biological data to characterize a novel Henneguya (Myxozoa) species infecting the Amazonian prochilodontid Semaprochilodus insignis or “kissing prochilodus”, a popular food fish and aquarium species in the Brazilian Amazon. Twenty-one S. insignis were caught live from the Tapajós river, Pará State, Brazil, then examined for myxozoan infections. Cysts of a novel Henneguya species were observed in the connective tissue of the fins. Myxospores measured 48 ± 4.9 (39.5–60.8) µm total length, of which caudal appendages were 33 ± 4.5 (26.4–45.2) µm and spore body was 15 ± 1.6 (12.4–20.5) µm. The spore body was 4.0 ± 0.6 (2.7–5.3) µm wide × 3.2 ± 0.4 (2.7–3.6) µm thick, with two unequal polar capsules (nematocysts) 7.2 ±0.8 (5.2–8.3) × 1.5 ± 0.3 (1.0–2.2) µm for the larger capsule and 5 ± 0.7 (4.0–6.3) × 1.4 ± 0.2 (1.0–1.8) µm for the smaller capsule. Polar tubules had 8–13 turns. Generative cells, immature and mature myxospores were observed within plasmodia. Ultrastructure showed plasmodia surrounded by collagen fibers, with the plasmodial membrane having pinocytotic channels. Phylogenetic analysis of small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences showed that the new Henneguya species clustered as a sister taxon to Henneguya tietensis, a parasite of the gills of the prochilodontid fish Prochilodus lineatus, from the geographically distant Paraná–Paraguai River basin.

Although most Myxozoa species of the genera Ceratomyxa and Ellipsomyxa have been described in marine hosts worldwide, an increasing diversity has been reported infecting South American freshwater fish, mainly in Amazonian waters. The present study deals with two species of myxozoan ceratomyxids parasitizing the gallbladder of Amazonian ornamental cichlids fish: Ceratomyxa amazonensis is identified from a new host—Geophagus altifrons; while Ellipsomyxa santarenensis n. sp. is described infecting Satanoperca jurupari. Morphological (light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy), molecular (small ribosomal subunit DNA—SSU-rDNA sequencing) and phylogenetic analyses were used to characterize both species. Ceratomyxa amazonensis showed a prevalence of 64.2%, with plasmodia showing a vermiform shape and motility. For E. santarenensis n. sp., the prevalence was 33.3%. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that the vermiform C. amazonensis plasmodia were composed of an outer cytoplasmic region and a large vacuole occupying the inner area. In E. santarenensis n. sp., cytoplasmic expansions were observed in pseudoplasmodia originating pseudopodia. SSU rDNA sequencing-based genetic distance analysis revealed a very small difference between C. amazonensis, parasite of G. altifrons, and C. amazonensis, parasite of S. discus—host of the original description, thus showing that they are the same species occurring in a new host. For Ellipsomyxa santarenensis n. sp., molecular data revealed a difference of 1.6% for Ellipsomyxa amazonensis and Ellipsomyxa paraensis. The phylogenetic analysis revealed the grouping of E. santarenensis n. sp. together with the other freshwater Ellipsomyxa species of the Amazonian region, and associated with the morphological data, it was possible to identify it as a new taxon within the genus Ellipsomyxa.

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Calyptospora species are coccids that commonly cause liver infections in fish all around the world. This paper describes the morphology and histopathological characteristics of liver infection caused by Calyptospora sp. in black piranha Serrasalmus rhombeus, from the Capim River, in the municipality of Ipixuna do Pará, state of Pará (Brazil). Specimens were collected, analyzed and necropsied and tissue fragments containing parasites were prepared for histology and scanning electron microscopy. Parasitism was detected in 33.0% of the analyzed specimens, which had spherical oocysts in the liver, with four pyriform sporocysts presenting sporozoites internally. A histological examination revealed oocysts positioned close to blood vessels, causing necrosis and degeneration of hepatic parenchyma, while the presence of mononuclear cell infiltrate and melanomacrophages indicated the onset of an inflammatory process. This is the first record of the genus Calyptospora in fish from the Capim River.