Zootaxa 2164: 1–20 (2009)www.mapress.com / zootaxa/

ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition)

ArticleCopyright © 2009 · Magnolia PressZOOTAXAISSN 1175-5334 (online edition)

Survey of the endohelminth parasites of freshwater fishes in the upper MezquitalRiver Basin, Durango State, Mexico
G. PÉREZ-PONCE DE LEÓN, R. ROSAS-VALDEZ, B. MENDOZA-GARFIAS, R. AGUILAR-AGUILAR,
J. FALCÓN-ORDAZ, L. GARRIDO-OLVERA & R. PÉREZ-RODRÍGUEZ
Laboratorio de Helmintología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ap. Postal 70-153, C.P. 04510,
México D.F., México. E-mail: ppdleon@ibiologia.unam.mx

Abstract
As a part of an ongoing inventory of the helminth parasites of freshwater fishes in Mexico, 676 specimens were collected
between November 2007 and December 2008 in 23 localities along the upper Mezquital River Basin in Durango State,northern Mexico. Sixteen species of hosts, mostly corresponding to Nearctic freshwater elements, were studied. A totalof 1,230 individual worms were collected during this survey, representing 25 species of endohelminths of which 9 weredigeneans, 3 were cestodes, 4 were acanthocephalans, and 9 were nematodes. The checklist contains 24 new hosts and 42
new locality records. The information provided in this checklist may be helpful for our understanding of the biodiversity
and historical biogeography of this host-parasite system, since the Mezquital River Basin mostly contains a Nearctic
freshwater fish fauna, with a few Neotropical and endemic elements and may represent a transitional area from abiogeographical point of view.
Key words: Helminths; freshwater fishes; survey; upper Mezquital River Basin; Durango; MexicoIntroduction
Because of its diverse parasite fauna, Mexico is considered to be a hot spot of parasite diversity for freshwater
fishes (Luque & Poulin 2007). The study of helminth parasites of freshwater fishes in Mexico started with thedescriptions of Crassicutis cichlasomae Manter, 1936 and Derogenes tropicus Manter, 1936 as parasites of
the cichlid Cichlasoma mayorum Hubbsand the heptapterid Rhamdia guatemalensis Barbour and Cole,
respectively (Manter, 1936) in sinkholes (cenotes) of the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico. Several
isolated reports were established over the next 50 years, and most of the survey work has been conducted overthe last two decades (see compilations by Pérez-Ponce de León et al. 1996; Vidal-Martínez et al. 2001;
Garrido-Olvera et al. 2006; Salgado-Maldonado 2006). Even though freshwater fishes are the host group
benefitting from the largest study effort in Mexico for helminth parasites, and the one with the best-known
parasite fauna, the inventory is far from complete. In addition to that, sampling effort has been unequal, andthe vast majority of records have been obtained from field work conducted in localities of southeastern andcentral Mexico, with the northern regions basically remaining unexplored (Garrido-Olvera et al. 2006); just afew records have been documented for helminth parasites of freshwater fishes from that part of the country.
More specifically, only five papers have been published on endohelminth parasites of freshwater fishes forthe study region in Durango State. Salgado-Maldonado et al. (2005) described a new species ofacanthocephalan in the pupfish (Cyprinodon meeki Miller) from the Abraham González spring. In the sameyear, as part of a comprehensive survey of the helminth parasites of goodeids in Mexico, Mejía-Madrid et al.
(2005) recorded four species of helminths as parasites of two species of these fish from El Toboso, Amado
Nervo, and Los Berros. Later, Martínez-Aquino et al. (2007) studied the helminth parasite fauna of two
Accepted by N. Dronen: 30 Jun. 2009; published: 21 Jul. 20091