ISSN: 2639-216X
Authors: Omar M Amin*, César Peña, Teresa Castro and Nataliya Rubtsova
Cystacanths and adults of 8 valid species of acanthocephalans in 3 classes that we collected from various species of wildlife in Peru over the last few years are reported. Notes on each species are supplemented by light microscope images giving new perspectives even though some have been previously published using line drawings or SEM images. The presented images are novel and original for each species and enhance some of the former depictions of species that may have been previously published. This presentation includes a treatment of the cystacanth of a moniliformid species, Moniliformis moniliformis (Bremser, 1811) Travassos, 1915 (Class Archiacanthocephala) from Rattus rattus (Linn.) in Lima, Peru. A new form of Neoechinorhynchus (Neoechinorhynchus) cylindratus (Van Cleave, 1913) Van Cleave, 1919 (Class Eoacanthocephala) different from the usual North American form collected from the mosquitofish Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard) in Pantanos de Villa Wildlife refuge is designated as a new subspecies: Neoechinorhynchus (Neoechinorhynchus) cylindratus peruensis n. subsp. Species in 3 families of Class Palaeacanthocephala, Echinorhynchidae, Illiosentidae, and Polymorphidae are reported. Pseudoacanthocephalus lutzi (Hamann, 1891) (Echinorhynchidae) was found in the coastal toad Chaunus limensis Werner off Lima. Illiosentis furcatus Van Cleave & Lincicome 1939 (Illiosentidae) is reported from the Lorna drum Sciaena deliciosa Tschudi in La Punta. The following species in Polymorphidae are also reported. Cystacanths of Polymorphus spindlatus Amin & Heckmann, 1991 in 4 species of killifish Orestias in Lake Titicaca and in the Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Linn. in Villa swamps. Adult P. spindlatus were described from the black-crowned night heron at Puno Bay, Lake Titicaca. Cystacanths of Profilicollis altmani (Perry, 1942) Van Cleave, 1947 were described from the Pacific sand crab Emerita analoga (Stimpson) in Chorrillos, Lima and the adults from Belcher’s gull Larus belcheri (Vigors) in Ancȯn, Lima. The cystacanths of Neoandracantha peruensis Amin & Heckmann, 2017 were described from the ghost crab Ocypod gaudichaudii Milne-Edwards & Lucas from the Pacific coast off Lima. The questionable validity of “Polymorphus (=Profilicollis) pacificus” sensu Karl, 1967 is discussed and that species appears to be an extreme variant of P. altmani.
Keywords: Neoechinorhynchus; Polymorphus spindlatus; Peruvian Parasitology
