Metazoan Parasites of <i>Geophagus proximus</i>, a Cichlidae Fish from the Eastern Amazon (Brazil)

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.

Ecology and diversity of metazoan parasites infecting Geophagus altifrons (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) from the Amazon River system in northern Brazil

“…In addition, in G. altifrons of the Jari River, larvae of Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) sp. are at infection levels lower than those reported for Geophagus proximus (Castelnau, 1855) found in the Tapajós River (PA) (Oliveira et al, 2017). Species of Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) have cladocerans as first intermediate hosts, smaller fish as secondary hosts and predatory fish as definitive hosts (Moravec, 1970(Moravec, , 1998.…”

“…In wild fish populations, communities and infracommunities of parasites are the result of repeated additions and losses of parasite species during evolutionary history. Developing over time, the ecological and biological characteristics of hosts and parasites determine host colonization, consequently influencing parasite community richness and diversity (Poulin, 2004;Hoshino et al, 2014;Oliveira et al, 2017;Tavares-Dias et al, 2017a, b). The study of the factors influencing host-parasite interactions in wild fish populations has been gaining the interest of ecologists and parasitologists, resulting in an increase in the number of studies on this subject in the last decades.…”

“…Host age, size, diet, habitat, behavior, distribution and geographical range have been recognized as some of the factors influencing richness and diversity of parasite communities in wild fish populations (Poulin, 2004;Lagrue et al, 2011;Hoshino et al, 2014;Oliveira et al, 2017;Tavares-Dias et al, 2017 a, b;Pelegrini et al, 2021). Therefore, since the factors controlling infection levels, richness and diversity of parasite communities are diverse and can likely can vary spatially in wild fish populations, such factors need to be analyzed for different fish species, including G. altifrons.…”