Parasite assemblage of Sympterygia bonapartei (Pisces: R a j i d a e), an endemic skate of the Southwest Atlantic

TANZOLA, R.D; GUAGLIARDO, S.E.; BRIZZOLA, S.M.; ARIAS, M.V.; BOTTÉ, S.E.

Helminthologia

Parasitological Institute of SAS

Lugar: Kosice, Slovak Republic; Año: 1998 vol. 35 p. 123 - 129

The specific assemblage of parasitic helminths of the ray Sympterygia bonapartei is described. The relationships between size and both species richness and total burden of worms were analyzed using non-parametric statistics. The pattern of dispersion of the species compo- nent in the host´s population was examined. Seven species of helminths are cited for the first time in the host: Rhinebothrium chilensis Euzet et Carvajal (1973), Eutetrarhynchus vooremi Sao Clemente et Correa Gomes (1989), Pseudanisakis tricupola (Rudolphi, 1819), Polymorphus chasmagnathi (Holcman Spector, Mané Garzón et Dei Cas, 1977), Grillotia erinaceus (van Beneden, 1858), Terranova sp. and Contracaecum sp. Four component species (prevalences >10 %) were recognized. Three of them were distributed in an over-dispersed manner and the remaining showed a random distribution. The parasite assemblage in the spiral valve consists of nine species. The worms mostly occupied the first three chambers in the spiral intestine. The helminth infracommunities included 1 secondary and 8 satellite species. The great number of inhabiting sites and the low diversity recorded in S. bonapartei are consistent with the "isolationist or non-interactive type" of specific assemblages. The mean number of species component per individual host is lower than those proposed for some marine fishes. No significative interspecific associations were found among the component species. The present results are consistent with those of previous research on parasites of rays in the sense that cestodes are the dominant major helminth group in the assemblage. All of the species present have low prevalence, intensity of infection and abundance. Acanthocephalans are absent or accidental components in the helminth fauna of elasmobranchs. The parasite assemblage of Sympterygia bonapartei in the sampled area, disagree with the proposal that consider the diversity of parasitic assemblages of elasmobranchs to be amplified.