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Type: Article
Published: 2025-10-03
Page range: 391-400
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Hoferellus matosi sp. nov. (Bivalvulida: Myxobilatidae) parasitizing Ageneiosus ucayalensis Castelnau (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae) from the Coaracy Nunes Hydroelectric Reservoir in Amapá, Eastern Amazon, Brazil

Animal Health and Production in the Amazon Graduate Program; Federal Rural University of the Amazon; Belém; Pará; Brazil.
Environmental Sciences Graduate Program; Federal University of Amapá; Macapá; Amapá; Brazil.
Biology of Infectious and Parasitic Agents Graduate Program; Federal University of Pará; Belém; Pará; Brazil.
Laboratory of Morphophysiology and Animal Health; Amapá State University; Macapá; Amapá; Brazil.
Laboratory of Applied Genetics; Federal Rural University of the Amazon; Belém; Pará; Brazil.
Federal Rural University of the Amazon; Belém; Pará; Brazil.
Laboratory of Morphophysiology and Animal Health; Amapá State University; Macapá; Amapá; Brazil.
Laboratory of Applied Genetics; Federal Rural University of the Amazon; Belém; Pará; Brazil.; Animal Health and Production in the Amazon Graduate Program; Federal Rural University of the Amazon; Belém; Pará; Brazil.
Protist Brazilian Amazon Myxozoa Ageneiosus urinary bladder

Abstract

The microparasite species Hoferellus matosi sp. nov. was found parasitizing the urinary bladder of the fish species Ageneiosus ucayalensis collected from the Coaracy Nunes hydroelectric reservoir in Ferreira Gomes, Amapá, Brazil. Plasmodia and myxospores were identified in fragments of the urinary bladder and characterized through microscopic and molecular analyses. Myxospores were subspherical in sutural view, with fine striations or projections on the posterior portion of the valves, measuring an average length and width of 8.5 (8.2–8.8) μm and 7.9 (7.6–8.2) μm, respectively. Each spore contained two ovoid polar capsules of equal size, with an average length and a width of 3.4 (3.2–3.6) μm and 3.1 (2.9–3.3) μm, respectively. Comparing a partial sequence (1,153base pairs) of the small subunit ribosomal DNA gene revealed that H. matosi sp. nov. is clearly distinct from other Hoferellus species deposited in the GenBank, as confirmed through a phylogenetic analysis using Bayesian inference. A morphometric analysis also supported this distinction. Therefore, H. matosi sp. nov. is a newly identified myxosporean species that clusters with H. azevedoi, H. tartarugualis, and H. jutubensis in the phylogenetic tree, forming a distinct lineage of Amazonian Hoferellus.

 

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How to Cite

Souza, F.D.A.E., Martel, C.S., Carvalho, A.A.D., Nascimento, L.S.D.O., Costa, C.V.D.C., Silva, D.T.D., Videira, M.N. & Hamoy, I.G. (2025) Hoferellus matosi sp. nov. (Bivalvulida: Myxobilatidae) parasitizing Ageneiosus ucayalensis Castelnau (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae) from the Coaracy Nunes Hydroelectric Reservoir in Amapá, Eastern Amazon, Brazil. Zootaxa, 5701 (3), 391–400. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5701.3.7