Metazoan Parasites of Lagodon rhomboides (Sparidae) in La Carbonera Lagoon, Yucatán Peninsula
Keywords:
Parasites, taxonomy, ecology, DNA, Yucatán, MexicoAbstract
Coastal lagoons are highly diverse ecosystems because they are transition zones between marine and terrestrial environments; in some cases, they serve as nursery sites for certain fish species. The pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, locally known as “xlavita” or “sargo”, is a member of the family Sparidae and is distributed in coastal lagoons across the Western Atlantic, from Massachusetts, USA to the Northern Yucatán Peninsula and the West Indies. The parasite fauna of L. rhomboides across its distributional range has been partially studied. Here, we sampled 29 individuals of L. rhomboides from La Carbonera lagoon in the Yucatán Peninsula using seine nets. Fish were euthanized and studied for ecto and endoparasites. Metazoan parasites were identified using molecular and morphological data. Sixteen parasite taxa were found. Of these, 37.5% were larval forms and 62.5% were adults, indicating the role of this fish species in the trophic network in coastal lagoons. Seven taxa were added to the list of parasite species of L. rhomboides across its distributional range, raising the total number to 38. The prevalence and mean intensity of infection were calculated for each parasite taxon, and community attributes such as species richness, mean abundance, and diversity indices were calculated at the infracommunity and component community levels.
Downloads
References
Anderson MJ, Gorley RN and Clarke KR (2008). PERMANOVA for PRIMER: Guide to Software and Statistical Methods. PRIMER-E, Plymouth, UK.
Aguilar-Medrano R, Hernandez de Santillana M and Vega-Cendejas ME (2020). Using fish assemblages to understand environmental connectivity and usage. A contribution to the conservation of the Yucatan Wetland. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 239, 106766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106766
Arceo-Carranza D, Vega-Cendejas ME, Montero-Muñoz J and Hernández de Santillana M (2010). Influencia del hábitat en las asociaciones nictimerales de peces en una laguna costera tropical. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 81, 823-837. https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S1870-34532010000300022&script=sci_arttext
AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) (2020). Guideline for the euthanasia of animals. Schaumburg, Illinois: American Veterinary Medical Association
Bere R (1936). Parasitic copepods from Gulf of Mexico fish. The American Midland Naturalist, 17, 577-625. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2419936
Bonfil R, Díaz-Jaimes P, Palacios-Barreto P, Mendoza-Vargas OU and Ricaño-Soriano M (2024). Improved eDNA assay evidence further regudia for critically endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1290661. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1290661
Bonilla-Gómez J, López-Rocha J, Badillo-Aleman MB, Tzeek-Tzu J and Chiappa-Carrara (2011). Growth and mortality of Lagodon rhomboides (Pisces: Sparidae) in a tropical coastal lagoon in northwestern Yucatan, Mexico. Revista Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, 3, 99-109. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=633766718007
Bonilla-Gómez J, Ramírez-Rojas A, Badillo-Aleman M and Chiappa-Carrara X (2014). Nuevo registro de Lagodon rhomboides (Pisciformes: Sparidae) como hospedero de Cymothoa excisa (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) en la costa noreste de la Península de Yucatán. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 85, 633-637. https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.38768
Bouguerche C, Gay C, Justine JL and Tazerouti F (2019). Towards the resolution of the Microcotyle erythrini species complex: description of Microcotyle isyebi n. sp. (Monogenea, Microcotylidae) from Boops boops (Teleostei, Sparidae) off the Algerian coast. Parasitology Research, 118, 1417-1428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06293-y
Bowles J, Blair D and McManus DP (1995). A molecular phylogeny of the human schistosomes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 54, 103-109. https://doi.org/10.1006/mpev.1995.1011
Bush AO, Lafferty KD, Lotz JM, and Shostak AW (1997). Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al., revisited. Journal of Parasitology, 83, 575-583. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3284227
Caira JN, Jensen K, Waeschenbach A, Olson PD and Littlewood TJ (2014). Orders out of chaos-molecular phylogenetics reveals the complexity of shark and stingray tapeworm relationships. International Journal of Parasitology, 44, 55-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2013.10.004
Caira JN, Jensen J and Fyler CA (2018). A new genus of tapeworm (Cestoda: Onchoproteocephalidae) from sawfish (Elasmobranchii: Pristidae). Journal of Parasitology, 104, 133-144. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44810404
Canto-Maza WG and Vega-Cendejas M (2008). Hábitos alimenticios del pez Lagodon rhomboides (Perciformes: Sparidae) en la laguna costera de Chelem, Yucatán, México. Revista de Biología Tropical, 56, 1837-1846. https://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?pid=S0034-77442008000400020&script=sci_arttext
Creesey R (1991). Parasitic copepods from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, III: Caligus. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 497, 1-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.497
D’Amelio S, Barros NB, Ingrosso S, Fauquier DA, Russo R and Paggi L (2007). Genetic characterization of members of the genus Contracaecum (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from fish-eating birds from west-central Florida, USA, with evidence of new species. Parasitology, 134, 1041-1051. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003118200700251X
Eaton K, Hallaj A, Stoeckel JA and Bernal M (2022). Ocean warming leads to increase in aerobic and changes to gene expression in the pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 809375. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.809375
Espínola-Novelo JF, Gónzalez-Salas C, Guillén-Hernández S and Mackenzie K (2013). Metazoan parasites of Mycteroperca bonacci (Epinephelidae) off the coast of Yucatan, Mexico, with a checklist of its parasites in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 84, 1111-1120. https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.27989
Espínola-Novelo JF, Solórzano-García B, Guillén-Hernández S, Badillo-Alemán M, Chiappa-Carrara X and Pérez-Ponce de León G (2023). Metazoan parasites of the Ocellated killifish, Floridichthys polyommus (Cyprinodontidae) in La Carbonera coastal lagoon, Yucatán, Mexico. Regional Studies of Marine Science, 67, 103223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.103223
Espínola-Novelo JF, Solórzano-García B, Badillo-Alemán M., Chiappa-Carrara X, Guillén-Herández S and Pérez-Ponce de León, G (2025). Metazoan parasites of two endemic species of killifishes, Fundulus grandissimus and F. persimilis (Cyprinodontiformes: Fundulidae), in coastal lagoons of northern Yucatán Península, México. Marine Biodiversity, 55, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-024-01485-x
Folmer O, Black M, Hoch W, Lutz R and Vrijenhock R (1994). DNA primers for amplification of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology, 3, 294-299
Froese R and Pauly D (Eds.) (2026). FishBase. Sparidae Rafinesque, 1818. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=125564 on 2026-06-02
García-Teh JG, Vidal-Martinez VM, Mariño-Tapia I, Árcega-Cabrera F, Ordoñez-Lopez U and Aguirre-Macedo ML (2022). Metazoan parasite infracommunities of the Tomate Grunt (Haemulon aurolineatum) as potential bioindicators of environmental conditions in the Yucatan Continental Shelf, Mexico. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 108, 49-54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03305-5
Garcia-Valera M and Nadler SA (2005). Phylogenetic relationships of Palaeacanthocephala (Acathocephala) inferred from SSU and LSU rDNA gene sequences. Journal of Parasitology, 91, 1401-1409. https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-523R.1
González-Solís D, Vidal-Martinez VM, Antochiw-Alonso DM and Ortega-Argueta A (2006). Anisakid nematodes from stranded pygmy sperm whales, Kogia Breviceps (Kogiidae), in three localities of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Journal of Parasitology, 92, 1120-1122. https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-3553RN.1
Hernández-Mena ID, Garcia-Prieto L and Garcia-Varela M (2014). Morphological and molecular differentiation of Parastrigea (Trematoda: Strigeidae) from Mexico, with description of a new species. Parasitology International, 63, 315-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2013.11.012
Hutton RF and Sogandares-Bernal F (1959). Studies on helminth parasites of the coast of Florida I. Digenetic trematodes of marine fishes from Tampa and Boca Ciega Bays with descriptions of two new species. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 9, 53-68. https://doi.org/10.2307/3274511
Hutton RF and Sogandares-Bernal F (1960). A list of parasites from marine and coastal animals of Florida. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 79, 287-292. https://doi.org/10.2307/3223735
Hutton RF (1964). A second list of parasites from marine and coastal animals of Florida. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 83, 439-447. https://doi.org/10.2307/3224765
Kritsky D and Bakenhaster M (2019). Lamellodiscus spp. (Monogenoidea: Diplectanidae) infecting the gill lamellae of porgies (Perciformes: Sparidae) in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida U.S.A., with descriptions of Lamellodiscus occiduus n. sp. and Lamellodiscus vesperus n. sp. from Calamus spp. Comparative Parasitology, 86, 79-88. https://doi.org/10.1654/1525-2647-86.2.79
Lamothe-Argumedo R (1997). Manual de técnicas para preparar y estudiar los parásitos de animales silvestres. A. G. T. Editor S.A. México D.F.
Lutton K, Walker D and Blair D (1992). Comparisons of ribosomal internal transcribed spacers from two congeneric species of flukes (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda: Digenea). Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 56, 323-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-6851(92)90181-I
MacCallum GA (1913). Further notes of the genus Microcotyle. Zoologische Jahrbücher, 35, 389-4020
Manter HW (1947). The digenetic trematodes of marine fishes of Tortugas, Florida. American Midland Naturalist, 38, 257-416
Mendoza-Franco EF, Rosado-Tun MC, Duarte-Anchevida AJ and del Río-Rodríguez RE (2018). Morphological and molecular (28s rRNA) data of monogeneans (Platyhelminthes) infecting the gills lamellae of marine fishes in the Campeche Bank, Southwest Gulf of Mexico. Zookeys, 783, 125-161. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.783.26218
Mendoza-Garfias B, García-prieto L and Pérez-Ponce de León (2017). Checklist of the Monogenea (Platyhelminthes) parasitic in Mexican aquatic vertebrates. Zoosystema, 39, 501-598. https://doi.org/10.5252/z2017n4a5
Montoya-Mendoza J, Castañeda-Chávez M and Lango-Reynoso F (2015). Helminths of sheepshead Archosargus probatocephalus (Pisces: Sparidae) from Alvarado, Veracruz, México. Global Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Health Science, 4, 45-47
Nadler SA and Husdspeth DSS (1998). Ribosomal DNA and phylogeny of the ascaridoidea (Nemata: Secernentea): implications for morphological evolution and classification. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 10, 221-236. https://doi.org/10.1006/mpev.1998.0514
Nahhas FM and Powell EC (1965). Monorchiidae (Trematoda) from fishes of Apalachee Bay, Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Parasitology, 51,16-20. https://doi.org/10.2307/3275637
Nahhas FM and Short RB (1965). Digenetic trematodes of marine fishes from Apalachee Bay, Gulf of Mexico. Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany, 12, 39-50. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.20210
Olson PD, Caira JN, Jensen K, Overstreet RM, Palm HW and Beveridge I (2010). Evolution of the thrypanorhynch tapeworms: Parasite phylogeny supports independent lineages of shark and rays. International Journal of Parasitology, 40, 233-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2009.07.012
Overstreet RM (1969). Digenetic trematodes of marine teleost fishes from Biscayne Bay, Florida. Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany, 15, 119-176
Overstreet RM, Cook JO and Heard RW (2009). Trematoda (Platyhelminthes) of the Gulf of Mexico. In Gulf of Mexico-Origins, Waters, and Biota Biodiversity (419-486). Felder DL and Camp DK (Eds.) Texas A&M, University Press, College Station, Texas
Pavlidis MA, and Mylonas CC (Eds.) (2011). Sparidae: biology and aquaculture of gilthead seabream and other species. John Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444392210
Pearse AS (1952). Parasitic crustacean from Alligator, Harbor, Florida. The Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Science, 187-243. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24313568
Pech D, Vidal-Martinez VM, Aguirre-Macedo ML, Gold-Bouchot G, Herrera-Silveira J, Zapata-Pérez O and Marcogliese DJ (2008). The checkered puffer (Sphoeroides testudineus) and its helminths as bioindicators of chemical pollution in Yucatan coastal lagoons. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 2315-2324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.11.054
Pérez-Ortega BF, Espínola-Novelo JF, Castro-Romero R, Montes MM and Pérez-Ponce de León G. (2026). Morphology and DNA sequences reveal a new species of Clavellotis (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae) as a parasite of three species of sparids in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Parasitology, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182026101735
Poulin R (2016). Greater diversification of freshwater than marine parasites of fish. International Journal of Parasitology, 46, 275-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2015.12.002
Salgado-Maldonado G and Kennedy DR (1997). Richness and similarity of helminth communities in the tropical fish Cichlasoma urophthalmus from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Parasitology, 47, 581-590. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182097008810
Sánchez-Ramirez C and Vidal-Martinez VM (200). Metazoan parasite infracommunities of Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) from the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Journal of Parasitology, 88, 1087-1094. https://doi.org/10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[1087:MPIOFP]2.0.CO;2
Sosa-Medina T, Vidal-Martinez VM and Aguirre-Macedo L (2015). Metazoan parasites of fishes from the Celestún coastal lagoon, Yucatán, Mexico. Zootaxa, 4007, 529-544. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4007.4.4
Spitzer P, Mattila J and Heck K (2000). The effects of vegetation density on the relative growth rates of juvenile pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides (Linneaus), in Big Lagoon, Florida. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 244, 67-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.11.054
Vega-Cendejas ME and Hernández de Santillana M (2004). Fish community structure and dynamics in a coastal hypersaline lagoon: Rio Lagartos, Yucatan, Mexico. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 60, 285-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2004.01.005
Vega-Cendejas ME, Hernandez de Santillana M and Arceo-Carranza D (2012). Length-weight relationships for selected fish species from a coastal lagoon influenced by freshwater seeps: Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 28, 140-182. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01875.x
Villora-Montero M, Pérez-del Olmo A, Georgieva S, Raga JA and Montero FE (2020). Considerations on the taxonomy and morphology of Microcotyle spp.: redescription of M. erythrini van Beneden & Hesse, 1863 (sensu stricto) (Monogenea: Microcotylidae) and the description of a new species from Dentex dentex (L.) (Teleostei: Sparidae). Parasites & Vectors, 13, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-3878-9
WoRMS (2026). Microcotyle Van Beneden & Hesse, 1863. Accessed at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=119381 on 2026-05-20
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal Ciencias del Mar UAS
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
