A New Species,Henneguya Lacustrisn. Sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea), Infecting The Gills Ofastyanax Lacustrisfrom Brazil

The present study describesHenneguya lacustrisn. sp. parasitizingAstyanax lacustris(Lutken 1875), from the Tiete River, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, through morphological and molecular analysis. Myxospores of the parasites were found in the gills ofA. lacustriswith 13% prevalence of infection. The myxospores were oval and presented as measures (mean +/- standard deviation): total length 18.3 +/- 2.2 mu m, body length 10.4 +/- 1.6 mu m, body width 4.9 +/- 0.9 mu m, tail length 7.2 +/- 2.5 mu m. The polar capsule was 4.8 +/- 0.3 mu m long and 1.5 +/- 0.2 mu m wide. The polar tubules, present inside the polar capsules, had 6 to 7 turns. The ultrastructural analysis allowed the observation of the asynchronous development of the myxospores. Phylogenetic analysis showedH. lacustrisn. sp. as a sister species ofH.chydadeaBarassa and Cordeiro 2003 in a subclade formed by species that parasitize the gills of Characiform fish from Brazil. Using molecular and morphological characterization, this parasite was identified as a new species of the genusHenneguyaThelohan 1892.