A myxozoan species not matching with any described genus was encountered in a survey of fish parasites of freshwater fishes in New York. The parasite was observed in the kidney tubules of bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus. A new genus is described to accommodate Acauda hoffmani n. gen., n. sp., which exhibits pyriform spores with longitudinal ridges and polar capsules perpendicular to the sutural plane. Spores measure 17.9–21.8 µm long and 6.9–11.0 µm wide, with spore valves each with 11–12 ridges. Two polar capsules measure 9.4–12.5 µm long by 2.9–4.0 µm wide and contain a filament coiled 10–15 times. Phylogenetic analysis places A. hoffmani n. gen., n. sp. as a sister to a Myxobilatus and a Hoferellus species. The clustering of these 3 similar genera in the larger ‘freshwater’ clade of myxozoans does not support their inclusion in the Sphaerosporidae but instead supports the distinct status of the Myxobilatidae Shulman 1953.
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1 December 2011
Interrenal Disease In Bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) Caused By A New Genus and Species of Myxozoan
Christopher M Whipps
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Journal of Parasitology
Vol. 97 • No. 6
December 2011
Vol. 97 • No. 6
December 2011