Nematode and cestode larvae of hygienic-sanitary importance in Lopholatilus villarii (Actinopterygii) in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

The tile fish, Lopholatilus villarii, occurs from Brazil to Argentina where it is commercially important because it possesses highly appreciated meat. The aim of this study was to identify the larvae of anisakid and raphidascaridid nematodes and trypanorhynch cestodes in L. villarii purchased in fish markets of the municipality of Niterói, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and calculate their parasitological indices and present their sites of infection. From August 2015 to September 2016, 31 specimens of L. villarii were investigated. The fish were necropsied and their viscera and musculature, analyzed. The helminths found were processed according to standard helminthological techniques for taxonomic identification. Of 31 fish analyzed, 28 (90.3%) were parasitized with larvae of anisakid and raphidascaridid nematodes: Anisakis sp., Terranova sp., Pseudoterranova sp. and Hysterothylacium deardorffoverstreetorum (L₃ and L₄) and plerocercus of the trypanorhynch cestode Otobothrium sp. Their parasitological indices were calculated. The helminths parasitized mainly the serosa of intestine, stomach and liver, and H. deardorffoverstreetorum was also parasitizing the abdominal musculature of one fish. This is the first report of anisakid and raphidascaridid nematodes and trypanorhynch cestodes in L. villarii. Hygienic-sanitary aspects were discussed.