Cucullanus bourdini Petter & Le Bel, 1992

Gonzalez-Solis, David, Soler-Jimenez, Lilia C., Aguirre-Macedo, M. Leopoldina, McLaughlin, John P., Shaw, Jenny C., James, Anna K., Hechinger, Ryan F., Kuris, Armand M., Lafferty, Kevin D. & Vidal-Martinez, Victor M., 2019, Parasitic nematodes of marine fishes from Palmyra Atoll, East Indo-Pacific, including a new species of Spinitectus (Nematoda, Cystidicolidae), ZooKeys 892, pp. 1-26 : 1

Cucullanus bourdini Petter & Le Bel, 1992

Description.

Male (5 specimens): medium-sized nematodes, 8.11-12.87 mm long, 223-413 wide. Esophagus 777-1,003 long and 126-240 wide at its posterior end. Anterior part of esophagus forming pseudocapsule (esophastome) 228-275 long and 129-185 wide. Nerve ring surrounding esophagus at its first third, 267-368 from anterior body end. Excretory pore beyond posterior end of esophagus, cervical papillae on distal end of esophagus or slightly posterior to it, 969-1,215 and 671-937, respectively, from cephalic end. Well-developed precloacal pseudosucker present, its distal part at 626-942 from posterior body end. Cloacal opening elevated. Eleven pairs of caudal papillae: 3 subventral, pedunculate precloacal pairs (first pair sometimes anterior to sucker and sometimes over anterior border), 4 adcloacal pairs (3 subventral, 1 lateral), 4 postcloacal pairs, including phasmids (1 subdorsal, 1 lateral, 2 subventral). One single papilla on anterior cloacal lip. Spicules similar, equal, alate, 982-1,543 with supporting structures along almost their whole length. Gubernaculum well-sclerotized, 116-140 long. Right and left postdeirids 3.94-6.37 and 1.92-3.27 mm, respectively, from posterior end of body. Tail conical 187-236 long, with pointed tip.

Gravid females (5 specimens, measurements of 1 young female in parentheses): body length 13.72-15.90 (5.23) mm long and 472-500 (220) wide. Esophagus 999-1,087 (600) long, 227-263 (106) wide at its posterior end. Esophastome 250-311 (197) long, 169-201 (129) wide. Nerve ring, excretory pore and deirids 318-367 (250), 1,150-1,377 (902), 805-971 (614), respectively, from anterior end of body. Vulva postequatorial 7.97-9.35 (3.30) from anterior end of body, with somewhat elevated lips and posteriorly directed muscular vagina. Eggs oval, 53-71 × 34-46 (-) in size, non-larvated. Tail conical, 294-385 (204) long.

Host.

Arothron hispidus .

Site of infection.

Intestine.

Prevalence and mean intensity.

46.7 and 6 ± 4.7 (n = 15).

Specimens deposited.

CHCM no. 628 (voucher) (1 vial, 1 specimen ♀).

Remarks.

The measurements of these nematodes are similar to those of C. bourdini , a species described from lutjanid fishes off New Caledonia ( Petter and Le Bel 1992; Moravec and Justine 2011), although it was also reported from Balistapus undulatus Park ( Balistidae ) and Myripristis kuntee Valenciennes ( Holocentridae ) from the French Polynesia ( Morand and Rigby 1998). They have overlapping measurements of the body length of males, spicules, gubernaculum, and similar number and distribution of caudal papillae, although there are some differences in female body length, which could be considered to represent intraspecific variability. Apparently, this nematode is not host-specific (see Moravec and Justine 2011), since it has been reported from four different fish families to date. This is the first record of C. bourdini in A. hispidus and the second for a tetraodontiform fish.