Acanthocephalans from Marine Fishes from Patagonia, Argentina

HERNÁNDEZ-ORTS, JESÚS S.; ALAMA-BERMEJO, GEMA; GARCÍA, NÉSTOR A.; CRESPO, ENRIQUE A.; MONTERO, FRANCISCO E.; RAGA, JUAN A.; AZNAR, FRANCISCO J.

JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY

AMER SOC PARASITOLOGISTS

Año: 2019 vol. 105 p. 162 - 169

0022-3395

In this study, 542 individual fish from 20 species from the Patagonian continental shelf of Argentinawere examined for acanthocephalans. A total of 1,547 acanthocephalans belonging to 5 species werecollected from 18 species of fish. Adult forms were represented by 2 species: Aspersentis johni (Baylis,1929) (Heteracanthocephalidae) from longtail southern cod, Patagonotothen ramsayi (Regan) (newhost record), and Breizacanthus aznari Herna´ ndez-Orts, Alama-Bermejo, Crespo, Garcı´a, Raga andMontero, 2012 (Arhythmacanthidae) from raneya, Raneya brasiliensis (Kaup). Immature worms ofB. aznari were also collected from the intestine of pink cusk-eel, Genypterus blacodes (Forster) (newhost record). Cystacanths of 3 species of Corynosoma Lu¨ he, 1904 (Polymorphidae) were foundencapsulated in the mesenteries of fish. Corynosoma australe Johnston, 1937 was the most abundantacanthocephalan in our study, infecting 18 species of fish and accounting for .89.9% of allspecimens collected. A cystacanth of Corynosoma bullosum (Linstow, 1892) was found in??castan? eta??, Nemadactylus bergi (Norman) (new host record), and cystacanths of Corynosomacetaceum Johnston and Best, 1942 were collected from red searobin, Prionotus nudigula Ginsburg,and flounders Paralichthys isosceles Jordan (new host record) and Xystreurys rasile (Jordan). ThePatagonian shelf of Argentina represents a new locality record for A. johni and C. bullosum. Thissurvey is a starting point for understanding the diversity of marine acanthocephalans in Patagonianwaters.