Richness and similarity of helminth communities of the freshwater fish Profundulus punctatus (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) from Oaxaca, Mexico

The helminth parasite fauna of Profundulus punctatus in 7 localities from Oaxaca State, Mexico, was studied. A total of 132 fish were analyzed. Fourteen helminth taxa were recorded, including 9 digeneans (Paracreptotrema blancoi, Paracreptotrema profundulusi, Phyllodistomum sp., Culuwiya cf. cichlidorum, Clinostomum sp., Diplostomidae gen. sp., Posthodiplostomum minimum, Ascocotyle (Ascocotyle) felippei and Centrocestusformosanus), 2 monogeneans (Gyrodactylus sp. and Salsuginus sp.), and 3 nematodes (Spinitectus humbertoi, Rhabdochona salgadoi, and Eustrongylides sp.). Helminth parasite communities showed low values of richness (14 species) and diversity (Shannon-Wiener and Brillouin indices ranged between 0.359 to 2.083 and 0.358 to 2.042 bits/ind.) in the 7 localities, and some were dominated by 3 helminth species (Ascocotyle (Ascocotyle) felippei, Centrocestus formosanus, and Rhabdochona salgadoi). With the current data, we concluded that P. punctatus is parasitized by a particular group of helminth species (e. g., Paracreptotrema blancoi, Paracreptotrema profundulusi, Spinitectus humbertoi, and Rhabdochona salgadoi) exclusive to this fish family that are not shared with other Central American fish species.

ResumenSe estudió la helmintofauna de Profundulus punctatus de 7 localidades del estado de Oaxaca, México. Se examinó un total de 132 peces. El registro helmintológico de este pez consta de 14 taxa de helmintos, los cuales incluyen 9 taxa de digéneos (Paracreptotrema blancoi, Paracreptotrema profundulusi, Phyllodistomum sp., Culuwiya cf. cichlidorum, Clinostomum sp., Diplostomidae gen. sp., Posthodiplostomum minimum, Ascocotyle (Ascocotyle) felippei y Centrocestus formosanus), 2 taxa de monogéneos (Gyrodactylus sp. y Salsuginus sp.) y 3 taxa de nemátodos (Spinitectus humbertoi, Rhabdochona salgadoi y Eustrongylides sp.). Las comunidades de helmintos mostraron bajos valores de riqueza (14 especies) y diversidad (índices de Shannon-Wiener y Brillouin mostraron valores entre 0.359 a 2.083 y 0.358 a 2.042 bits/ind.) en las 7 localidades y algunas de estas fueron dominadas por 3 especies de helmintos (esto es, Ascocotyle (Ascocotyle) felippei, Centrocestus formosanus y Rhabdochona salgadoi). Nuestros datos sugieren que Profundulus punctatus es parasitado por un grupo particular de helmintos (esto es, Paracreptotrema blancoi, Paracreptotrema profundulusi, Spinitectus humbertoi y Rhabdochona salgadoi) especies exclusivas de esta familia de peces y al parecer no se encuentran en otras especies de peces de Centroamérica.