INTERRENAL DISEASE IN BLUEGILLS (LEPOMIS MACROCHIRUS) CAUSED BY A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF MYXOZOAN

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 mu m long and 6.9-11.0 mu m wide, with spore valves each with 11-12 ridges. Two polar capsules measure 9.4-12.5 mu m long by 2.9-4.0 mu m 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' chide of myxozoans does not support their inclusion in the Sphaerosporidae but instead supports the distinct status of the Myxobilatidae Shulman 1953.