Gobioides broussonnetii (Gobiidae): a new host for Pterobothrium crassicolle (Trypanorhyncha) on Marajó Island, northern Brazil

Abstract

In the present study, the cestoid Pterobothrium crassicolle Diesing, 1850 (Trypanorhyncha), was observed parasitizing specimens of the violet goby (Gobioides broussonnetii Lacepède, 1800) collected from the estuary of the Paracauarí River on Marajó Island in the north of the Brazilian state of Pará, between January 2009 and December 2010. Tissue samples were analyzed, which led to identification of blastocysts containing plerocercoid larvae. These larvae were processed for scanning electron microscopy. Sixty G. broussonnetii specimens were dissected, and P. crassicolle was found in 48 (80%) of them. The violet goby, G. broussonnetii, is a new host for P. crassicolle.