Gobioides broussonnetii (Gobiidae): a new host for Pterobothrium crassicolle (Trypanorhyncha) on Marajo Island, northern Brazil

In the present study, the cestoid Pterobothrium crassicolle Diesing, 1850 (Trypanorhyncha), was observed parasitizing specimens of the violet goby (Gobioides broussonnetii Lacepede, 1800) collected from the estuary of the Paracauari River on Marajo Island in the north of the Brazilian state of Para, between January 2009 and December 2010. Tissue samples were analyzed, which led to identification of blastocysts containing plerocercoid larvae. These larvae were processed for scanning electron microscopy. Sixty G. broussonnetii specimens were dissected, and P. crassicolle was found in 48 (80%) of them. The violet goby, G. broussonnetii, is a new host for P. crassicolle.