First Report of Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965 (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea, Anisakidae) Parasitizing Trachipterus arawatae (Pisces, Lampridiformes) on the Atlantic Coast of Brazil

SHORT COMMUNICATION

First Report of Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965 (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea, Anisakidae) Parasitizing Trachipterus arawatae (Pisces, Lampridiformes) on the Atlantic Coast of Brazil

Vol. 97(1): 93-94, January 2002

Joaquim Júlio Vicente, Michael Maia Mincarone/*, Roberto Magalhães Pinto/⁺

Laboratório de Helmintos Parasitos de Vertebrados, Departamento de Helmintologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Av. Brasil 4365, 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil *Museu Oceanográfico do Vale do Itajaí, Univali, Itajaí, SC, Brasil

New host and geographical records are reported for the nematode Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965, parasitizing the marine fish Trachipterus arawatae Clark, 1881 in Brazilian waters. Morphometric data and illustrations of the parasites are included.

Key words: Nematoda - Lappetascaris lutjani - Pisces - Trachipterus arawatae - Brazil

The genus Lappetascaris was erected by Rasheed (1965), to contain the anisakid nematode L. lutjani, recovered from the intestine of the marine fishes Lutjanus sp. [Lutjanidae] and Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) (= Hilsa ilisha) [Clupeidae], captured on the Karachi Coast, Pakistan. Additionally, the species was reported in India parasitizing Kurtus indicus Bloch, 1786 [Kurtidae] (De et al. 1978), Ilisha feligera (Valenciennes, 1847) [Clupeidae] (Soota & Dey-Sarkar 1980), and Pellona ditchela Valenciennes, 1847 [Clupeidae] (De 1990).

The present paper reports a new host and a new locality for L. lutjani.

Morphometric data are based on four adult specimens, two males and two females. Processing of nematodes for study was in accordance with Pinto et al. (2001). Measurements are in millimeters (mm), unless otherwise indicated. Figures were made with the aid of a drawing tube connected to an Olympus microscope and the photomicrograph with a Axiophot Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) system.

Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965

(Figs 1-4)

Figures 1-3

Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965. Fig. 1: head of female, en face view, showing the three well defined lips. Bar = 0.07 mm. Fig. 2: anterior of male, lateral view. Bar = 0.5 mm. Fig. 3: posterior of male, lateral view. Bar = 0.2 mm

Figure 4

Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965. Fig. 4: anterior extremity of male, lateral view, showing the head with cuticular thickenings. Bar = 0.1 mm

Body slender, brownish yellow in color, and attenuated at the anterior extremity. Cuticle thick. Head heavily cuticularized appearing as a mass of small cuticular thickenings (Fig. 4) rather than a three-lipped structure (Fig. 1). Lateral alae 0.14 wide.

Males: body 5.4-5.5 cm long, 0.26-0.37 wide. Nerve ring and excretory pore 0.42-0.49 and 0.49-0.56 from anterior end, respectively. Esophagus 6.79-8.40 long. Intestinal caecum and esophageal appendix, 6.37-6.44 and 3.01-3.94 long, respectively. Ventriculus 0.10-0.12 long. Spicules 3.92-4.00 long. Sixteen to seventeen pairs of caudal papillae. Cloacal aperture 0.56-0.63 from posterior extremity.

Females: body 7.5-8.5 cm long, 0.68-0.84 wide. Nerve ring and excretory pore 0.49 and 0.63 from anterior end, respectively. Esophagus 8.47 long. Intestinal caecum and esophageal appendix, 6.58 and 3.08-4.20 long, respectively. Ventriculus 0.12 long. Vulvar aperture in the middle region of body. Rectum 0.36-0.56 long. Anus 0.58-0.77 from posterior end.

Taxonomic summary

Host: Trachipterus arawatae Clark, 1881, Lampridiformes, Trachipteridae; common names: dealfish, "peixe-fita" – New host record

Voucher host deposited: Museu Oceanográfico do Vale do Itajaí (MOVI) no.16160, female, 1,680 mm long, SL (Standard length)

Site of infection: stomach

Locality: Atlantic Coast (29°22'S, 47°38'W, 50 m depth), State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil – New locality record

Specimens deposited: Helminthological Collection of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (CHIOC) no. 34435 (wet material) and MOVI no. 16663 (wet material).

According to Mincarone et al. (2000), the host species T. arawatae has been recorded in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Réunion Island and Atlantic coast of South America.

The present results add new data to previous surveys of Brazilian fish nematodes (Vicente et al. 1985, Vicente & Pinto 1999).

REFERENCES

Figs. 1-3 | Fig. 4

References

• De NC 1990. Some new data on the morphology of the nematode Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965 (Nematoda, Anisakidae). Folia Parasitol 37: 295-299.
• De NC, Gosh M, Majumdar G 1978. Records of some little known nematodes from Indian fishes. Folia Parasitol 25: 317-322.
• Mincarone MM, Soto JMR, Lima AT 2000. Segundo registro do peixe-fita, Trachipterus arawatae Clarke, 1881 (Lam-pridiformes, Trachipteridae), na costa brasileira. An XIII Semana Nac Ocean, Itajaí, SC, p. 748-750.
• Pinto RM, Gonçalves L, Noronha D, Gomes DC 2001. Worm burdens in outbred and inbred laboratory rats with morphometric data on Syphacia muris (Yamaguti, 1935) Yamaguti, 1941 (Nematoda, Oxyuroidea). Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 96: 133-136.
• Rasheed S 1965. On a remarkable new nematode, Lappetascaris lutjani gen. et sp. n. (Anisakidae: Ascaridoidea) from marine fishes of Karachi and an account of Thymnascaris inquies (Linton, 1901) n. comb. and Goezia intermedia n. sp. J Helminthol 39: 313-343.
• Soota TD, Dey-Sarkar SR 1980. On three species of the nematode genus Cucullanus Mueller 1777, and a note on Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965 from Indian marine fishes. Rec Zool Survey of India 76: 1-6.
• Vicente JJ, Rodrigues HO, Gomes DC 1985. Nematóides do Brasil. 1^a. parte: nematóides de peixes. Atas Soc Biol Rio de Janeiro 25: 1-79.
• Vicente JJ, Pinto RM 1999. Nematóides do Brasil. Nematóides de peixes. Atualização: 1985-1998. Revta bras Zool 16: 561-610.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  12 Apr 2002
• Date of issue
  Jan 2002

History

• Accepted
  02 July 2001
• Received
  22 May 2001