Abstract

MOSQUEDA-CABRERA, Miguel Ángel et al. Helminth of the annual fish Millerichthys robustus (Teleostei: Rivulidae), an endemic species to Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2019, vol.90, e902652.  Epub May 27, 2019. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2652.

Annual fishes inhabit temporary water bodies that form during the rainy season, when they dry up, lead to death the entire population. In Mexico, Millerichthys robustus is the only species with an annual life history, with scarce information about its metazoan parasites. Helminth fauna of M. robustus is constituted by the larval stages of allogenic species such as Valipora minuta, V. campylancristrota, Clinostomum marginatum, Contracaecum sp., Serpinema trispinosum, Eustrongylides sp., Gnathostoma lamothei and Polymorphus sp. The parameters of infection are related with temporality of habitat, and the values for most of species are higher than those registered in fish of permanent waters. The metacercaria of C. marginatum, with prevalences of 16.7% in testicle and 4.1% in ovary, can impact the reproduction and life expectancy of host. The number of species found (8) and the high values in infection parameters, together with the physical characteristics of habitat, play an important role that ensures the transmission of infection toward the definitive hosts. These habitats can be a natural laboratory for the study of the parasite-host system, for example, in relation to patterns of colonization and larval development.

Keywords : Metazoan parasites; Annual fishes; Temporary water bodies.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )