ISSN Versión impresa 2218-6425 ISSN Versión Electrónica 1995-1043
Neotropical Helminthology, 2018, 12(2), jul-dic:147-152.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE / ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL
METAZOAN PARASITES OF ACESTRORHYNCHUS FALCATUS (CHARACIFORMES:
ACESTRORHYNCHIDAE) FROM FLOODPLAIN LAKES OF THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON
METAZOARIOS PARÁSITOS DE ACESTRORHYNCHUS FALCATUS (CHARACIFORMES:
ACESTRORHYNCHIDAE) COLECTADOS EN LAGOS INUNDABLES DE LA AMAZONÍA
BRASILEÑA
1Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana. Centro de Investigaciones Fernando Alcántara (CIFAB - IIAP).
Laboratorio de Parasitología y Sanidad Acuícola. Carretera Iquitos-Nauta, Km. 4.5, San Juan Bautista, Iquitos – Perú.
2Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA, Manaus, Brasil). Av. André Araújo, 2936 – Petrópolis, Manaus,
Amazonas, Brasil 69067-375. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biología de Água Doce e Pesca Interior-BADPI
*Corresponding author: E-mail: germantiss1106@gmail.com
1,* 2
Germán Augusto Murrieta Morey & José Celso de Oliveira Malta
ABSTRACT
Keywords: Acestrorhynchus falcatus – Amazonia – ectoparasites – endoparasites – fish – host
This work describes the metazoan parasites of Acestrorhynchus falcatus (Bloch, 1794) (Characiformes:
Acestrorhynchidae) caught in floodplain lakes of the Brazilian Amazon. The studied lakes were: Baixio,
Preto, São Tomé, Ananá, Araçá and Maracá, located between the cities of Manaus and Coari in Central
Amazonia. Sixty-six specimens of A. falcatus were collected and examined in March, June, September,
and December 2013. A total of 263 specimens of parasites belonging to 11 species were found. These
included 166 endoparasitic specimens (63.12%) and 97 ectoparasitic specimens (36.88%). Seven species
are reported for the first time: Quadrigyrus torquatus Van Cleave, 1920 (Acanthocephala); Anisakis sp.
(Nematoda), Pseudoproleptus sp. (Nematoda); Travasosnema travassosi paranaensis Costa, Moreira &
Oliveira, 1991 (Nematoda); Amplexibranchius bryconis Thatcher & Paredes, 1985 (Copepoda);
Acusicola pellonidis Thatcher & Boeger, 1983 (Copepoda) and Argulus amazonicus Malta & Silva, 1986
(Brachiura). Acestrorhynchus falcatus has an intermediate position in the trophic web of the studied
floodplain lakes, being intermediate, paratenic and definitive host of different parasite species.
Neotropical Helminthology
147
Volume12,Number2(jul-dec2018)
ÓrganooficialdelaAsociaciónPeruanadeHelmintologíaeInvertebradosAfines(APHIA)
Lima-Perú
VersiónImpresa:ISSN2218-6425VersiónElectrónica:ISSN1995-1043
Species of Acestrorhynchus are benthopelagic fish,
exclusively of freshwater that are distributed in
rivers and lakes of South America. Eleven species
occur in the Amazonas and Orinoco River basins,
and in rivers of Guianas. Two species are restricted
to the River São Francisco in the River Paraná. One
species occurs in the River Paraná, Uruguay and
Paraguay River basins (Toledo-Piza, 2007; Pretti et
al., 2009).
Acestrorhynchus falcatus occurs in the Amazonas
and Orinoco River basins and in rivers of Suriname
and French Guyana. This species can be
differentiated from other Acestrorhynchus by
presenting a humeral spot next to the operculum
and next to the caudal fin. It can reach 30 cm of
length, is sedentary, diurnal and piscivorous, but
younger specimens can also feed on crustaceans
(Soares et al., 2008; Pretti et al., 2009).
There are few studies on the fauna of parasites of A.
falcatus. In the Amazon Region, there are non-
studies concerning to parasites of this fish species.
Thus, the present study pretends to identify the
metazoan parasites of A. falcatus collected in
floodplain lakes of the Brazilian Amazon.
Sixty-six A. falcatus (Figure 1) with mean 17.82 ±
2.33 cm standard length and mean 86.45 ± 43.54 g
weight were collected between March and
December 2013 from six floodplain lakes of the
Brazilian Amazon: Lake Baixio (03°17'27, 2''S/
60°04'29,6''W) at the city of Iranduba, Lake Preto
(03°21'17, 1''S/ 60°37'28,6''W) at Manacapurú;
Lake Ananá (03°53'54,8''S/ 61°40'18,4''W) at
Anori; Lake Araçá (S03°45' 04,3" S/ 62°21' 25,9"
W) at Codajás and Lake Maracá (03°50'32,8''S/
62°34'32,4''W) at Coari and Lake São Tomé
(03°49' 39,0"S/ 61°25' 24,6" W).
Fish were caught using 100 mm between adjacent
nodes-meshed, 20 m long x 2 m high gillnets.
Posteriorly the fishes were quickly immersed in 75
-1
mg clove oil·L solution and euthanized
(CONCEA, 2013). In the field, fishes were
measured and weighed. The gills, operculum and
fins were examined for the presence of
ectoparasites. Gills and nostrils were removed and
preserved in 5% formalin; the gastrointestinal tract
was preserved in 70% ethanol for posterior
analyses at the laboratory of Fish Parasitology
(LPP) in the National Institute of Amazonian
Research (INPA).
148
Neotropical Helminthology, 2018, 12(2), jul-dic
RESUMEN
Palabras clave: Acestrorhynchus falcatus – Amazonia – ectoparásitos – endoparásitos – hospedero – peces
Este trabajo describe los metazoarios parásitos de Acestrorhynchus falcatus (Bloch, 1794)
(Characiformes: Acestrorhynchidae) capturados en lagos inundables de la Amazonía brasileña. Los lagos
estudiados fueron: Baixio, Preto, São Tomé, Ananá, Araçá y Maracá, localizados entre las ciudades de
Manaus y Coari en la Amazonía Central. Sesenta y seis A. falcatus fueron colectados y examinados en
marzo, junio, septiembre y diciembre de 2013. Fueron encontrados 263 especímenes de parásitos
pertenecientes a 11 especies. Del total de parásitos, 166 especímenes (63,12%) fueron endoparásitos y 97
especímenes (36,88%) ectoparásitos. Siete especies son citadas por primera vez: Quadrigyrus torquatus
Van Cleave, 1920 (Acanthocephala); Anisakis sp. (Nematoda), Pseudoproleptus sp. (Nematoda);
Travasosnema travassosi paranaensis Costa, Moreira & Oliveira, 1991 (Nematoda); Amplexibranchius
bryconis Thatcher & Paredes, 1985 (Copepoda); Acusicola pellonidis Thatcher & Boeger, 1983
(Copepoda) y Argulus amazonicus Malta & Silva, 1986 (Brachiura). Acestrorhynchus falcatus tiene una
posición intermediaria en la red trófica de los lagos estudiados, siendo un hospedero intermediario,
paraténico y definitivo de diferentes especies de parásitos.
Murrieta Morey & Oliveira Malta
INTRODUCTION MATERIAL AND METHODS
At the laboratory, the parasites found were
processed according to Amato et al. (1991).
Specimens were studied using a light microscope
Zeiss Axioscope 2. Voucher specimens were
deposited at the invertebrate collection of the
National Institute of Amazon Research (INPA),
Manaus, Brazil. The ecological terminology
applied to parasites followed Bush et al. (1997).
A number of 263 specimens of parasites belonging
to 11 species were found parasitizing A. falcatus
(Table 1). From the total number of parasites, 166
specimens (63.12%) were endoparasites and 97
specimens (36.88%) were ectoparasites.
Seven parasites species were in the stage of adult
and the other were immatures. The highest
prevalence was for Diaphorocleidus sp. (32.14%),
the highest mean intensity was for Anisakidae
larvae (Table 1)
.
149
RESULTS
Neotropical Helminthology, 2018, 12(2), jul-dic
Table 1. Metazoan parasites in Acestrorhynchus falcatus (Bloch, 1794) from oodplain lakes of the Brazilian
Amazon. P% = prevalence, N = number of parasites, I = intensity of infection, mI = mean intensity, mA = mean
abundance.
Parasites Accession NoP% N I mI mA
MONOGENOIDEA
Diaphorocleidus
sp.
INPA -
643
32.14
80
1-15
4.44 ± 3.91
1.42 ±
3.03
DIGENEA
Clinostomum marginatum
INPA -
690
7.14
8
1-3
2 ± 0.70
0.14 ± 0.54
ACANTOCEPHALA
Quadrigyrus torquatus
INPA -
55
7.14
8
1-2
2,00
0.14 ± 0.51
NEMATODA
Anisakis sp.
INPA -
87
5.36
30
1-3
10 ± 5.62
0.53 ±
2.37
Pseudoproleptus sp.
INPA -
88
19.64
6
1-5
0.54 ± 0.81
0.10 ± 0.48
Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus
INPA -
89
8.93
19
1-16
3.8 ± 1.21
0.33 ± 0.86
Travassosnema travassosi paranaensis
INPA -
90
3.57
6
2
3,00
0.10 ± 0.44
Larvas Anisakidae
INPA -
91
25.00
89
1-23
6.35 ± 6.89
1.58 ± 4.37
COPEPODA
Amplexibranchius bryconis
INPA -
2339
10.71
11
1-3
1.83 ± 1.11
0.19 ± 0.68
Acusicola pellonidis
INPA -
2340
7.14
5
1-2
1.25 ± 0.43
0.08 ± 0.33
BRANCHIURA
Argulus amazonicus
INPA -
2341
1.79
1
1
1,00
0,02
DISCUSSION
Species of Diaphorocleidus were found in
Characidae species: Bryconops affinis (Günther,
1864), Astyanax bimaculatus (Linnaeus, 1758),
Hemigrammus microstomus Durbin, 1918 and
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi (Boulenger, 1895)
(Jogunoori et al., 2004). For Acestrorhynchidae
Diaphorocleidus sp. was found in Acestrorhynchus
lacustris (Lütken, 1875) from São Paulo (Camargo
et al., 2015), in A. falcirostris Cuvier, 1818 and A.
falcatus from Amapá (Hoshino et al., 2016). In the
present study, Diaphorocleidus sp. was found
parasitizing A. falcatus, representing the first
occurrence of a Diaphorocleidus species in the
Brazilian Amazon.
Clinostomum marginatum (Rudolphi, 1819) was
cited in A. falcirostris and A. falcatus collected in
Amapá, Brazil (Hoshino et al., 2016). In Brazilian
floodplain lakes C. marginatum was found
parasitizing different organs of A. falcirostris
(Dumbo, 2014). In the present study, metacercariae
of C. marginatum were found in the gills and
intestine of A. falcatus.
Metazoan parasites of Serrasalmus altispinis
150
For A. falcatus, the acanthocephalans Palliolisentis
polyonca Schmidt & Hugghins, 1973 (Thatcher,
2006) and Neoechinorhynchus pterodoridis
Thatcher, 1981 (Hoshino et al., 2016) were found
parasitizing the intestine. For species of
A c e s t ro r h y n c h u s , th e acanthocepha l a n
Quadrigyrus torquatus Van Cleave, 1920 was cited
parasitizing A. lacustris (Carvalho et al., 2003) and
A. falcirostris (Dumbo, 2014). In the present study
Q. torquatus was found in the intestine of A.
falcatus, being the first record of this parasite in this
fish species. Additionally, the number of known
host for this acanthocephalan is expanded to a new
host.
In floodplain lakes of the Brazilian Amazon,
A n i s a k i s s p . , P. (S . ) i n o p i n a t u s a n d
Pseudoproleptus sp. were found in Pygocentrus
nattereri Kner, 1858 (Morais, 2011); Anisakis sp.
and P. (S.) inopinatus in C. monoculus (Santana,
2013); Anisakis sp., P. (S.) inopi n a t us,
Pseudoproleptus sp. and Travassosnema
travassosi paranaensi in A. falcirostris (Dumbo,
2014) and P. (S.) inopinatus and Pseudoproleptus
sp. in Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831)
(Attroch, 2016). In the present study all these
nematodes were found parasitizing different
organs of A. falcatus. The only species specific for
Acestrorhynchus is T. travassosi paranaensi that
was found in A. lacustris (Moravec et al., 1993). In
the present study, Anisakis sp., Pseudoproleptus sp.
and T. travassosi paranaensis are cited for the first
time in A. falcatus.
The feeding habits of fish are the main factor that
determines the composition of endoparasite
species, because they are transmitted through the
trophic web in predator-prey relationships
(Marcogliese, 2002). In the present study
additionally to the adult and immature nematodes
quote above, numerous Anisakidae larvae were
found. In this way, A. falcatus has an intermediate
position in the trophic web of the studied floodplain
lakes, being intermediate, paratenic and definitive
host of different endoparasites.
For Acestrorhynchus the copepod parasite species
known are: Ergasilus turucuyus Malta & Varella,
1996 from A. falcatus, A. falcirostris and A.
microlepis (Shomburgk, 1841) (Malta & Varella,
1996); E. turucuyus, Amplexibranchius bryconis,
Acusicola pellonidis and Miracetyma piraya
Malta, 1993 from A. falcirostris (Dumbo, 2014). In
the present study, A. bryconis and A. pellonidis are
cited for the first time in A. falcatus.
For Acestrorhynchus, Dolops bidentata Bouvier,
1899, D . geayi Bouvier, 1897, A rgulus
chicomendesi Malta & Varella, 2000 and A.
amazonicus Malta & Silva, 1986 are cited
parasitizing A. falcirostris (Matta & Silva, 1986;
Dumbo, 2014). In the present study, A. amazonicus
Figure 1. Lateral view of Acestrorhynchus falcatus (Bloch, 1794) captured in oodplain lakes of the Brazilian Amazon
Neotropical Helminthology, 2018, 12(2), jul-dic Murrieta Morey & Oliveira Malta
151
was found in A. falcatus, representing the first
occurrence of this parasite in this fish species.
GAMM received a scholarship from the
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de
Nível Superior – CAPES (Brazil).
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Neotropical Helminthology, 2018, 12(2), jul-dic Murrieta Morey & Oliveira Malta
