Volumen 43 - Número 3: 585-590 | 2008
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Two new protist species, Trypanoplasma ojedae sp. n. (Mastigophora: Kinetoplastida) and Trichodina lascrucensis sp. n. (Ciliophora: Peritrichida) in a blenniid fish, Scartichthys viridis, from the coast of Chile

Rasul A. Khan¹, Freddy Díaz² and Mario George-Nascimento^2*

¹Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John´s, NL, Canada
²Departamento de Ecología Costera, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Casilla 297, Concepción, Chile

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Two new protistan species were observed in a blenniid fish, Scartichthys viridis, inhabiting tide pools at Las Cruces, central Chile. Trypanoplasma ojedae sp. n. (Mastigophora: Kinetoplastida) in the blood is characterized by its small size (29.8 ± 5.0 x 5.1 +1.2 μm), short anterior flagellum (4.9 ± 0.6 μm), anterior located kinetoplast (2.4 ± 0.2) and a prominent undulating membrane. All of 18 fish were infected and 67% were parasitized on the gills by an unidentified piscicolid leech that harbored developing and infective biflagellated stages. Trichodina lascrucensis sp. n. (Ciliophora: Peritrichida) parasitized the gill fillaments of all fish. The ciliate is characterized by its body size (70.8 ± 8.4 μm), adhesive disc (53 ± 5.4 μm), denticular ring (33 ± 3.1 μm), mean number of denticles (32.8 ± 3.0), mean number of denticular pins (9.5 ± 1.0) and ovoid micronucleus located near to one of the macronuclear arms. Since none of the two parasites was similar to any species described from marine tide pool habitats as well as from the Pacific Ocean, both are considered new species with the characteristics described herein.

Key words: Intertidal fish, haemoparasite, gill ciliate, Southeast Pacific