Melissa Q. Cardenas

• PhD
• Researcher at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is an important vertebrate model organism across various scientific disciplines. The current study reports the nematode larva, Eustrongylides sp., presence, in zebrafish from a pet shop, acquired by Fundação Oswaldo Cruz for toxicity studies. Morphological and molecular data from this nematode are given herein, contribut...

The genus Enenterum Linton, 1910 comprises species which parasitize herbivorous kyphosid fish. In the present study, a new species is described based on fresh specimens collected from Kyphosus incisor from Rio de Janeiro. The new species is characterized by having the oral sucker infundibuliform with 10 lobes, prepharynx two times longer than phary...

Populations of freshwater species have been declining rapidly and species are becoming extinct. Thus, understanding freshwater species distribution, trends and patterns is required. The Munim River basin is situated in a region with a phytogeographic interface between the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Although the Munim basin ichthyofauna is curren...

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classification. In this context, the B Brazilian meg...

Opecoeloides Odhner, 1928, is represented by 19 valid species found in marine fish, of which five have been reported in Brazil. Specimens of Opecoeloides pedicathedrae Travassos, Freitas & Bührnheim, 1966, were collected from the intestine of smooth weakfish Cynoscion leiarchus, a new host record, from off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They...

During a survey of helminth parasites, five monogenoid species were reported from marine fishes from the coast of Angra dos Reis, littoral of Rio de Janeiro State, Atlantic Ocean. A total of 810 monogenoids were collected: Pseudotagia pomadasys Hernández-Vale, Bunkley-Williams & Williams Jr, 2016, Pseudoeurysorchis travassosi Caballero & Bravo-Holl...

During a survey of the helminth fauna of characiform fishes from the Tocantins River, Brazil, 185 fish specimens from 22 species were studied. Twelve species of Nematoda and nine species of Digenea were collected. Some of these helminth species were reported for the first time in their hosts, thus representing new host records: Procamallanus (Spiro...

Hypophthalmus marginatus is among the most commercialized fish from the Amazon region, with fish fillets exported to Southeastern Brazil and other countries. In the present study, the H. marginatus analyzed were parasitized by third-stage larvae of Hysterothylacium sp. and Anisakis sp. These nematodes are being reported for the first time in H. mar...

PurposeDescribe a new species of didymozoid digenean Neonematobothrium Yamaguti, 1965 from the operculum of the scombrid fish, Euthynnus alletteratus (Rafinesque, 1810), in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean off Brazil.Methods Thirty-four specimens of E. alletteratus were collected in the coastal zone of the state of Rio de Janeiro and obtained from loca...

A juvenile specimen of a mermithid (Nematoda) was found parasitizing a third instar nymph of Triatoma sordida from Mato Grosso, Brazil. This is the first record of mermithid parasitism in a triatomine species. The Mermithidae represents a family of nematodes that are specialized insect parasites. Entomonematodes are one of the highly influential ag...

Contracaecum pelagicum Johnston & Mawson, 1942 y Seuratia shipleyi (Stossich, 1900) están registrados en Brasil parasitando Calonectris borealis (Cory, 1881), que es un nuevo huésped para ambas especies. Se presentam las principales medidas de estas especies en el nuevo huésped.

Se presenta una lista completa de las 432 especies de Cestoda que se han descrito y / o registrados en Brasil. Se distribuyen através de 15 órdenes y 36 familias; 50 especies no fueron identificadas y 9 se consideran species inquirenda. Entre los peces, Zungaro zungaro (Humboldt in Humboldt & Valenciennes, 1821) fue el hospedador que fue más parasi...

Seven species of Didymozoidae were found parasitizing three species of scombrid fishes along the Rio de Janeiro coast, southwestern Atlantic Ocean. All these species are reported here for the first time in Brazil and new hosts are presented, which adds to the knowledge of these species. The main morphological and morphometric features of each speci...

RESUMO: O rio Tocantins é o segundo maior curso d’água, constituindo a região hidrográfica do Tocantins-Araguaia, considerada a maior bacia inteiramente brasileira, conhecido pela grande diversidade de espécies de peixes, muitas delas endêmicas para a região. Os ecossistemas aquáticos que sofrem impactos ambientais pela ação antrópica podem apresen...

Between March and October 2008, 355 specimens of Pygocentrus nattereri were collected from the lowland lakes of Central Amazonia, Brazil, to study their nematode fauna. A total of 1.116 specimens of Nematoda were collected, belonging to six species. Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus was the species with the highest parasite indices. Larvae...

Two species of nematodes belonging to the genus Ichthyouris Inglis, 1962 (I. ro and I. bursata), were collected from the cichlid fish Mesonauta festivus in the central Brazilian Amazon region. Both species are reported in this locality for the first time. I. bursata is reported in a new host, M. festivus, and this is the first report of I. ro paras...

The objective of the present study was to analyze the seasonality of parasitic helminths of Leporinus macrocephalus from fish farms in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil, and their parasitism rates. Between June 2014 and March 2015, 200 specimens were sampled from two fish farms: one with a semi-intensive system and the other with an...

In the Amazon, the growing demand for fish has been boosting the expansion of fish farms. However, the intensification of cultivation can generate disequilibrium in the parasite-host environment, predisposing fish to parasitic infections. The objective of this study was to evaluate the community structure of metazoan parasites in cultivation system...

Eucinostomus argenteus and E. Gula (Perciformes, Gerreidae) from Angra dos Reis, littoral of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were parasitized by monogenoideans Darwinoplectanum figueiredoi (Diplectanidae) and Microcotyle guanabarensis (Microcotylidae). In this study, a new morphological detail is added to the ventral bar of D. Figueiredoi and...

Contracaecum pelagicum Johnston & Mawson, 1942 and Seuratia shipleyi (Stossich, 1900) are reported in Brazil parasitizing Calonectris borealis (Cory, 1881), which represents a new host record for both nematode species. The main measurements of these species in the new host are presented.

Contracaecum pelagicum Johnston & Mawson, 1942 and Seuratia shipleyi (Stossich, 1900) are reported in Brazil parasitizing Calonectris borealis (Cory, 1881), which represents a new host record for both nematode species. The main measurements of these species in the new host are presented.

Third-stage larvae (L3) of Hysterothylacium sp. were collected by the first time in juveniles of pirarucu Arapaima gigas farmed in the Rio Preto da Eva, Amazonas state. Ninety-eight (98) out of 100 examined fish showed to be parasitized. Five hundred and ninety larvae of Hysterothylacium sp. were collected from the intestines, stomach and pyloric c...

This catalog lists 568 species and 506 figures of trematodes parasites of birds and mammals from South America: 352 species have been recorded from birds and 216 from mammals. Twenty nine species have been reported in both groups of hosts. Parasitizing birds, 219 species have been reported from Brazil, 129 species from Argentina, 93 from Venezuela,...

The marine nematodes usually comprise free-living species, although a few are parasitic. However, several cases of free-living nematodes found accidentally in the digestive tract of certain vertebrates, especially fishes, have sometimes been recorded and categorized as pseudoparasites. In the present work, two species of marine fishes, the rhomboid...

Pseudorhabdosynochus jeanloui n. sp. (Monogenoidea, Diplectanidae) is described from specimens collected from the gills of the Pacific creolefish, Paranthias colonus (Perciformes, Serranidae) from a fish market in Chorrillos, Lima, Peru. The new species is differentiated from other members of the genus by the structure of its sclerotized vagina, wh...

This study provides the first investigation on acquisition of parasites in invasive O. niloticus by parasite species of native Cichlidae from the Igarapé Fortaleza basin, Northern Brazil. There were examined 576 specimens of 16 species of native cichlids and invasive O. niloticus collected in the main channel and the floodplain area of this tributa...

A new nematode species, Philometra nattereri n. sp. (Philometridae), is described from female specimens found in the oculo-orbits and nasal cavity of the red piranha Pygocentrus nattereri Kner (Characiformes: Characidae) from five lakes in Central Amazonia, Brazil, collected in 2008 and 2009 (overall prevalence 12%, intensity 1-3 nematodes per fish...

Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) halitrophus (Fusco and Overstreet, 1978) is an intestinal parasite of the flounders Syacium papillosum and Citharichthys macrops, both of which are native to waters off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With transmission electron microscopy, we observed the body wall which is composed of the cuticle,...

Achatina fulica or "giant African snail" is an exotic species, considered to be one of the world's hundred most invasive species, causing serious environmental damages. In the present study we report, for the first time, the occurrence of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus infecting A.fulica in the Amazon region. This nematode is described parasitizing mai...

During a survey of the helminth parasites of Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus from the Atlantic Ocean, off Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, 10 species of metazoan parasites were collected: 1 species of Monogenea (Choricotyle rohdei); 3 species of Nematoda (Hysterothylacium sp. third stage larvae, Raphidascaris sp. third stage larvae, and Pr...

During a survey of the helminth parasites of Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus from the Atlantic Ocean, off Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, 10 species of metazoan parasites were collected: 1 species of Monogenea (Choricotyle rohdei); 3 species of Nematoda (Hysterothylacium sp. third stage larvae, Raphidascaris sp. third stage larvae, and Pr...

A new species of Choricotyle parasitizing the marine fish Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus (Teleostei: Sciaenidae) from Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (23°00′24″S; 44°19′05″W) is proposed. Choricotyle rohdei n.sp. differs from all other species of the genus mainly by the number of genital spines, which varies from 28 to 30, whereas others presen...

Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) experimentally infected with Litomosoides chagasfilhoi were treated with a single oral dose of 40 or 80 mg of albendazole, respectively. Observation of the microfilaremia after the treatment showed that both single oral doses of albendazole decreased the microfilaremia in L. chagasfilhoi infection. The body wall was...

The nematode Philometra katsuwoni Petter & Baudin-Laurencin, 1986, a gonad-infecting parasite of Katsuwonus pelamis (Linneaus 1758), originally described from the Gulf of Guinea, is reported for the first time from the coastal zone of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. As compared with the original description, the males of the Brazilian material are ge...

The ultrastructure of the female reproductive system of the filariid Litomosoides chagasfilhoi by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is described for the first time. The ovary is composed of primary oocytes surrounded by a single layer of epithelial cells apposed on the basal laminae. The ovarian wall is completely filled with primary oocytes,...

Nematodes of the family Aspidoderidae (Nematoda: Heterakoidea) Freitas 1956 are widely distributed from Americas. The species of the genus Aspidodera Railliet and Henry 1912 are parasites of mammals of the orders Edentata, Marsupialia, and Rodentia. In the present work, Aspidodera raillieti (L. Travassos, Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 5(3):271-318, 1913),...

The ultrastructure of the camallanid nematode Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) halitrophus, a parasite of flounder, is described for the first time by the use of transmission electron microscopy. The body wall is composed of an outer cuticle, a hypodermis, and a muscular layer. The cuticle comprises the epicuticle, the cortical, median, fibrous, and...

Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) halitrophus Fusco and Overstreet, 1978 from the intestines of flounders (Syacium papillosum and Citharichthys macrops) from the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is redescribed. This study, which is based on results obtained by light and scanning electron microscopy, clarifies many morphological aspects o...

Pseudempleurosoma gibsoni n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) is described from the oesophagus of Paralonchurus brasiliensis (Steindachner) from off the coast of Brazil. The type-species of Pseudempleurosoma Yamaguti, 1965, P. carangis Yamaguti, 1965, is redescribed and the diagnosis of the genus is amended. Metadiplectanotrema Gerasev et al. 1987...

Larval stages and adults of Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) pereirai Annereaux, 1946 are described from naturally infected Paralonchurus brasiliensis (Steindachner) (Sciaenidae) from the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The translucent first-stage larvae have a denticulate process at the anterior end, no buccal capsule or esophagus und...