Acta Parasitologica, Vol. 52, No. 4, 2007,
376–381.
DOI: 10.2478/s11686-007-0044-x
František Moravec (1)* and Guillermo Salgado-Maldonado (2)
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A new species of Philometra (Nematoda, Philometridae) from the gonads of the rock hind Epinephelus adscensionis (Osteichthyes) from the southern Gulf of Mexico
(1) Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic; (2) Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), A.P. 70-153, 04510 México, D.F., Mexico
*Corresponding author:
moravec@paru.cas.cz
ABSTRACT
A new species of parasitic nematode, Philometra mexicana sp. nov. (Philometridae), is described based on males and females parasitizing the gonads
of the marine perciform fish (rock hind) Epinephelus adscensionis (Osbeck) (Serranidae) off the coast of the southern Gulf of Mexico
(reefs of the Enmedio Island, Veracruz), Mexico, collected on 10 April 1990. The new species is characterized mainly by very small males (body length 1.63–1.86 mm)
with equally long, needle-like spicules (length 90–120 µm) and the gubernaculum (57–66 µm) without the usual dorsal barb on the distal end, the body length
of gravid females (178–230 mm), the presence of a well-developed anterior bulbous inflation on the female oesophagus, and by the length of the first-stage larvae
(420–435 µm). A comparison with other congeners parasitizing the gonads of marine fishes is provided. The cephalic end of the gravid female
of Philometra margolisi Moravec, Vidal-Martínez et Aguirre-Macedo, 1995, another related species from the gonads of Epinephelus [E. morio (Valenciennes)]
in Mexico, has been studied by SEM for the first time; it confirms the arrangement of the cephalic papillae as reported in the original species description.
Philometra mexicana is the fifth species of Philometra reported from the gonads of marine fishes in the West Atlantic region.
KEY WORDS:
Parasitic nematode, Philometra, gonads, marine fish, Epinephelus, Mexico