Proteocephalus sophiae n. sp. (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae), a parasite of the siluroid fish Paulicea luetkeni (Pisces: Pimelodidae) from the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Proteocephalus sophiae n. sp.(Cestoda: Proteocephalidae), a parasite of the siluroid fish Paulicea luetkeni (Pisces: Pimelodidae) from the Brazilian Amazon.-Proteocephalussophiae n. sp. is described from the siluroid fish Paulicea luetkeni (Steindachner), caught in the Amazon river at Itacoatiara (Amazonas State, Brazil).Among the Proteocephalus species of neotropical freshwater fishes, the absence of preporal vitellaria in the new species is unique with the exception of Proteocephalus macdonaghi (Szidat & Soria) from which it differs in a series of other characters.Including Proteocephalus sophiae, seven species of Proteocephalidea each representing a different genus, are recorded from Paulicea luetkeni, which is a surprisingly high parasite diversity.