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Assessment of the regional and local metazoan parasite specie-richness of Floridichthys polyommus (Cyprinodontidae) along coastal areas of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2025

Juan F. Espínola Novelo Open the ORCID record for Juan F. Espínola Novelo [Opens in a new window] ,
Maribel Badillo-Alemán ,
Brenda Solórzano-García ,
Leopoldo Andrade-Gómez ,
Sergio Guillén-Hernández Open the ORCID record for Sergio Guillén-Hernández [Opens in a new window] ,
Xavier Chiappa-Carrara  and
Gerardo Pérez-Ponce de León
Juan F. Espínola Novelo*
Affiliation:
Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ucú, Yucatán, Mexico
Maribel Badillo-Alemán
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia E Investigación Sisa, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Brenda Solórzano-García
Affiliation:
Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ucú, Yucatán, Mexico
Leopoldo Andrade-Gómez
Affiliation:
Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ucú, Yucatán, Mexico
Sergio Guillén-Hernández
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología Marina, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Xavier Chiappa-Carrara
Affiliation:
Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ucú, Yucatán, Mexico Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia E Investigación Sisa, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Gerardo Pérez-Ponce de León
Affiliation:
Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ucú, Yucatán, Mexico
*
Corresponding author: Juan F. Espínola Novelo; Email: juan.espinola@ua.cl
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Abstract

The full understanding of the parasite fauna of a host species requires sampling individuals across their entire distribution range. However, very few studies include an analysis considering such geographical coverage. The Ocellated killifish, Floridichthys polyommus, is an endemic estuarine fish whose distribution spans from the southwestern Gulf of Mexico to Belize. Here, we aimed at describing the metazoan parasite fauna of F. polyommus in localities across the Yucatán Peninsula to assess the parasite species richness at regional and local scales. From 2022 to 2024, 409 specimens of F. polyommus were collected from six localities. Data from three localities from a previous study were also included. Individuals were dissected, and examined for ecto and endoparasites. Twenty-four metazoan parasite taxa were identified using morphological characters and/or molecular data. Thirteen parasite taxa correspond to larval stages. Nine parasite taxa represent new host records, increasing to 35 the total number of metazoan parasites known for F. polyommus. The nematode Contracaecum sp. was found in all sampled localities, whereas the cestode Glossocercus caribaensis and the copepod Ergasilus sp. were found in seven, with variable prevalence and mean intensity of infection values. Two general patterns were uncovered irrespective of the geographical scale of the analyses (local or regional): (1) Digeneans were the most species-rich parasite group and (2) F. polyommus harboured more larval parasite taxa than adults. It seems that the parasite fauna of the Ocellated killifish in each sampling site represent a subsample of the total species richness at the regional level.

Keywords

brackish-watercoastal lagoondigeneanskillifishparasite fauna

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 105 , 2025 , e116
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

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