First report of the occurrence of protozoans of armored catfish Hoplosternum littorale in Brazil

Abstract

This study reports the first occurrence of protozoans in gills of catfish Hoplosternum littorale (Hancock, 1828) (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) in Brazil. From the examined specimens during period of July to August 2011, 95.3% had the gills infected only by protozoans Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora) and/or Piscinoodinium pillulare (Dinoflagellida), being the highest infection levels caused by I. multifiliis. The abundance of these parasites was not influenced by the fish body size and also not affected the relative condition factor (Kn) of the hosts. This was the first report of epidemiologic indices for H. littorale in the Brazilian Amazon.