Abstract

GARCIA-PRIETO, Luis; MENDOZA-GARFIAS, Berenit  and  PEREZ-PONCE DE LEON, Gerardo. Biodiversity of parasitic Platyhelminthes in Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2014, vol.85, suppl., pp.S164-S170. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.31756.

Platyhelminths represent undoubtedly the most diverse group of parasites of wild vertebrates in Mexico. A total of 1 015 nominal species have been recorded thus far, representing overall 7.4% of the world biodiversity of this parasitic group: 544 trematodes, 269 monogeneans, and 202 tapeworms. Actynopterigians are infected by the largest number of species (589), even though these vertebrates harbour the smallest mean number of species per host species (0.7). Flatworms have been recorded in 1 249 species of vertebrates in 1 014 localities throughout Mexico. The state of Veracruz shows the largest species richness, with 185. The northern states have been sampled less intensively for platyhelminths than the southern and southeastern states of Mexico. On the other hand, the relatively high number of new platyhelminth species described in hosts within the Mexican territory (185 trematodes, 131 monogeneans, and 75 tapeworms), allows us to predict a high level of endemism for the group. According to our estimates, over 3000 species of flatworms that parasitize wild vertebrates in Mexico remain to be recorded, which would suggest that their study requires to be intensified to complete the inventory.

Keywords : Trematoda; Monogenoidea; Cestoda; vertebrates; parasites; helminths.

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