Medical importance of candiru catfishes in Brazil: A brief essay

Haddad, Vidal; Zuanon, Jansen; Sazima, Iván

doi:10.1590/0037-8682-0540-2020

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The subfamily Vandelliinae and Stegophilinae belong to the family Trichomycteridae and are referred to as parasites (Datovo & Bockmann, 2010; Ferrer & Malabarba, 2013; de Pinna, 1998, 2016). Stegophilines have been reported as scale and mucus‐feeders (Eigenmann & Allen, 1942; Roberts, 1972; Baskin et al., 1980; Machado & Sazima, 1983; Winemiller & Yan, 1989; Neto & Pinna, 2016), but vandelliines (also called candirus) feed exclusively on blood (Haddad Junior et al., 2021; Kelley & Atz, 1964; Machado & Sazima, 1983). Many questions about candiru relations with their hosts remain unanswered, as these interactions are not consistent with descriptions of typical parasitism (Lafferty & Kurtis, 2002).…”

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confidence: 99%

Trophic interactions of vampire catfishes (Siluriformes: Vandelliinae) revealed by metabarcoding analysis of stomach contents

et al. 2021

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1. The trichomycterid catfishes of the subfamily Vandelliinae, the candirus, are parasite fishes that feed on blood. Therefore, the trophic interactions and dynamics of food webs in aquatic systems involving these catfishes cannot be determined through visual analysis of stomach contents, and the parasite-host interactions in this group of fishes are mostly unknown, except for a few anecdotal or experimental observations. 2. We used DNA analysis of stomach contents of these fluid-feeding fishes to identify hosts and study the ecological interactions of the haematophagous species Paravandellia oxyptera. Specifically, we used sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene collected from the gut contents of the catfish and compared them to data from GenBank to identify the host species.3. Our analysis indicated that examined specimens of Paravandellia oxyptera were exclusively fish parasites, and we identified genetic markers from eight host species from five families and three orders based on stomach contents.4. Paravandellia oxyptera does not exhibit host specificity. Unlike mucophagous trichomycterids, host species of haematophagous P. oxyptera belong to different trophic levels, showing a wide spectrum of interactions in the food web. A comparison of the host species with the accompanying fauna collected during sampling allowed an association between host preference and host size. Barcode analysis of stomach contents further produced a secondary source of information on the diversity of fish in the study area.5. This is the first study to identify host species of haematophagous parasitic fishes through the analysis of gut contents, demonstrating that specimens obtained in natural environments show much larger spectra of ecological interactions than previously reported from anecdotal or laboratory observations. This research is of broad interest, and exemplifies how DNA barcoding analysis of stomach contents provides new and relevant information on parasite/host interactions, with results not obtained by traditional methods of stomach content analysis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic interactions of vampire catfishes (Siluriformes: Vandelliinae) revealed by metabarcoding analysis of stomach contents

et al. 2021

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“…Regardless of the general interest aroused by the ecomorphological singularity exhibited by vandellines (e.g., Haddad et al, 2021), species-level taxonomy of the subfamily remains poorly explored (de Pinna, 2016). Vandelliinae comprises 10 valid species allocated in the genera Vandellia Valenciennes 1846, Paravandellia Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912, Plectrochilus Miranda-Ribeiro 1917and Paracanthopoma Giltay, 1935 Vandelliines range from c. 1.5 to 20 cm of standard length (SL) and are found associated with their hosts or buried in sandbanks in most major South American river systems (de Pinna & Wosiacki, 2003;E.H., pers.…”

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A new candiru of the genus Paracanthopoma (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) from the Araguaia River basin, central Brazil

Henschel

Katz

Costa

2021

Journal of Fish Biology

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A new species of the candiru genus Paracanthopoma is described from the floodplains of the Bananal Island, a transition area between the Cerrado and Amazon, in the Araguaia River basin, central Brazil. Paracanthopoma cangussu sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners, Paracanthopoma parva and Paracanthopoma saci, by the presence of seven opercular odontodes, five dentary teeth, five median premaxillary teeth, and first dorsal-fin pterygiophore in a vertical through the centrum of the 23th or 24th vertebra. It is further distinguished from each congener by an exclusive combination of character states, comprising the number of vertebrae, number of precaudal vertebrae, number of dorsal procurrent caudal-fin rays, number of ventral procurrent caudal-fin rays, number of dorsal-fin rays, disposition of pores on the cephalic portion of the latero-sensory system, absence of an anterior process on the anterior margin of parieto-supraoccipital, number of dorsal-fin pteryigiophores and number of interopercular odontodes. Although vandelliines are known for being exclusively hematophagous, with guts gorged with blood, two cleared and stained specimens of P. cangussu sp. nov. had Chironomidae larvae (Insecta) on their guts. Because most specimens of P. cangussu sp. nov. were collected with stomachs filled with blood, it was hypothesized that the species feeds accidentally or occasionally on insects.

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Medical importance of candiru catfishes in Brazil: A brief essay

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Trophic interactions of vampire catfishes (Siluriformes: Vandelliinae) revealed by metabarcoding analysis of stomach contents

Trophic interactions of vampire catfishes (Siluriformes: Vandelliinae) revealed by metabarcoding analysis of stomach contents

A new candiru of the genus Paracanthopoma (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) from the Araguaia River basin, central Brazil

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