A new species of Neoheterobothrium Price, 1943 (Monogenea, Diclidophoridae) from Syacium papillosum (Linnaeus) (Pleuronectiformes, Paralichthyidae) in the Yucatan Shelf, with notes on the validity of the subfamilies in the Diclidophoridae.

Neoheterobothrium papillosum n. sp. (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae) is described based on specimens collected from the gills of the dusky flounder Syacium papillosum (Linnaeus) (Paralichthyidae) in the Yucatan Shelf. The new species can be differentiated from other congeneric species by the following characteristics: (1) number of hooks in the genital atrium (8 hooks), (2) number of testes (20-34), (3) pharynx size, (4) peduncle length, and (5) egg size. Neoheterobothrium papillosum n. sp. resembles Neoheterobothrium syacii; however, detailed morphological analysis allowed for their separation into two different species. Sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA partial 28S and ITS1 were obtained and compared with available sequences of other species and genera of the family Diclidophoridae from GenBank. A phylogenetic analysis was conducted, including 33 sequences, 18 of which represented 17 species and 11 genera of the family Diclidophoridae. The phylogenetic tree showed that Diclidophoridae is a monophyletic family and species of Diclidophora were grouped as the sister group of Neoheterobothrium papillosum n. sp. Our phylogenetic analyses were consistent with Mamaev's hypothesis, who divided Diclidophoridae into Diclidophorinae and Choricotylinae and concluded that Neoheterobothrium was a genus belonging to Diclidophorinae.

The metazoan parasite communities of the shoal flounder (Syacium gunteri) as bioindicators of chemical contamination in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Because agriculture and offshore oil extraction are significant economic activities in the southern Gulf of Mexico, high concentrations of nutrients and hydrocarbons are expected. As parasite communities are sensitive to environmental impacts, these contaminants should have an effect on metrics such as species richness, relative abundance and similarity. Consequently, these community metrics can be used as indicators of aquatic environmental health. Our objectives were to describe the parasite communities of the shoal flounder Syacium gunteri and to determine potential thresholds above which environmental contaminants become major controlling factors of parasite community metrics. METHODS: The study area included 33 sampling sites in the southern Gulf of Mexico, where benthic sediments, water and shoal flounder individuals were collected. Data on ecto- and endo-parasites from flounder and nutrients, contaminants and physicochemical variables from the water and sediments were obtained. The statistical associations of the parasite community metrics at the component and infracommunity levels and the environmental data were analysed using redundancy analysis (RDA). RESULTS: Overall, 203 shoal flounder were examined for parasites, recovering 13 metazoan parasite species, and 48 physicochemical (e.g. temperature, nutrients) and contaminant (e.g. hydrocarbons, heavy metals) variables were obtained. The larval stages of the cestode Oncomegas wageneri and the nematodes Pseudoterranova decipiens and Hysterothylacium sp. were numerically dominant at the component and infracommunity levels. The parasite community metrics had significant negative statistical associations with both nitrate and total PAHs. With the exception of these two chemicals, which exceeded the threshold effect levels (TELs), no other environmental variable exceeded the range considered safe for marine organisms. CONCLUSIONS: The community metrics chosen generally had robust statistically significant associations with both physicochemical and contaminant variables, which supports the ecological relevance of these parameters as indicators of aquatic environmental health. Within the study area, the shoal flounder and their parasites live in a polluted environment with relatively high levels of hydrocarbons and nitrate. Regarding nitrate, we emphasise that if uncontrolled sewage discharge continues in the southern Gulf of Mexico, hypoxic conditions similar to those caused by the Mississippi river can be expected in the near future.