The present paper comprises a systematic survey of helminths from 202 red groupers, Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes) (Pisces: Serranidae), the most important commercial marine fish in the region, collected from ten localities off the Yucatan Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico during 1994-1996; two more helminth species were recorded from E. morio earlier. Thirty species of helminths were found: Monogenea 1, Cestoda 3, Trematoda 17, Nematoda 8, Acanthocephala 1. Of them, 15 species were adults, whereas 15 species were larval stages parasitizing piscivorous elasmobranch and teleostean fishes, birds and marine mammals as adults. A new didymozoid trematode, Allonematohnlhrium yucatanense sp. n., is described from the fins of this host. Most findings represent new host- and geographical records. Philometra margolisi, a nematode parasitizing the gonads, is undoubtedly the most important parasite affecting the reproduction of the host, endangering E. morio in aquaculture. Larval anisakid nematodes (Anisakis, Pseudoterranova, Hysterothylacium) recorded from the red grouper in the region of the southern Gulf of Mexico are important from the viewpoint of public health.
The paper presents a survey of the metacercariae of trematodes found in 581 fishes of 15 species from 39 cenotes (sinkholes) of the Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern Mexico. The following 21 species were found: Echinochasmus sp. 1, Echino-chasmus sp. 2, Echinostomatinae gen. sp. (family Echinostomatidae), Stunkardiella minima (Stunkard, 1938), Alrophecaecum (?) astorquii (Watson, 1976), Peiaezia loossi (Pérez Vigueras, 1957) (Acanthostomidae); Ascocotyle (Ascocotyle) tenuicollis Price, 1935, Ascocotyle (Ascolotyle) sp. 1, Ascocotyle (Phagicola) diminuta (Stunkard et Haviland, 1924), Ascocotyle (Phagicola) sp. 2 (= Phagicola angrense Travassos, 1916 of Salgado-Maldonado and Aguirre-Macedo, 1991), Ascocotyle (Phagicola) sp. 3 (Heterophyidae); Cladocystis trifolium (Braun, 1901) (Opisthorchiidae); Oligogonotylus manieri Watson, 1976 (Cryptogonimidae); Clinostomum cf. complanatum (Rudolphi, 1814) (Clinostomidae); Diplostomum (Auslrodiplostomum) com-paclum (Lutz, 1928), Posthodiplostomum minimum (MacCallum, 1921), Posthodiplostomum sp. (Diplostomidae); Neodiplos-tomidae gen. sp. 1 ; Neodiplostomidae gen. sp. 2 (Neodiplostomidae); and Apharyngostrigea sp. (Strigeidae). All species found are described and figured, and their life cycles are briefly discussed.
This paper comprises a systematic survey of larval nematodes collected from fishes from cenotes (= sinkholes) of the Peninsula of Yucatan, southern Mexico, in 1993-1994. Larvae of the following nine species were recorded: Physocephalus sexa-lalus, Acuariidae gen. sp., Spiroxys sp., Falcausira sp., Hysterothylacium cenotae, Contracaecum sp. Type 1, Contracaecum sp. Type 2, Goezia sp., and Eustrongylides sp. Larvae of P. sexalatus are recorded from fishes (Rhamdia guatemalensis) for the first time. The larvae are briefly described and illustrated and problems concerning their morphology, taxonomy, hosts and geographical distribution are discussed. Adults of these larvae are parasitic in piscivorous fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals (definitive hosts). Fishes harbouring the larvae of these parasites serve as paratenic hosts, being mostly an important source of infection for the definitive hosts.
The present paper comprises a systematic survey of adult nematodes collected from fishes from cenotes (= sinkholes) of the Peninsula of Yucatan, southeastern Mexico, in 1993-1994. Examinations of a total of 533 fishes (17 species) originating from 39 cenotes from the Mexican states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo revealed the presence of the following nine nematode species: Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) kidderi, Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) rebecae, P. (S.) neacaballeroi, Philome-trnides caudata, Hysterothylacium cenotae, Pseudocapillaria yucatanensis, Paracapillaria rhamdiae, P. teixerafreitasi and Capillostrongyloides sp. (only females). Four species (R. kidderi, P. rebecae, P. neacaballeroi and Capillostrongyloides sp.) are briefly described and illustrated and some problems concerning their morphology, taxonomy, hosts and geographical distribution are discussed. Taxonomic changes include Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) neacaballeroi (Caballero-Deloya, 1977) comb. n. and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) rebecae (Andrade-Salas, Pineda-López ct Garcfa-Magana, 1994) comb. n. The nematode fauna of fishes in cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula shows its appurtenance to the Neotropical fauna with close affinities with that of fish nematodes from South America, but with a considerable degree of endemism.