Diversity of parasites in Curimata incompta (Curimatidae), a host from Amazon river system in Brazil

This paper is the first study on host-parasite relationship in wild Curimata incompta Vari, 1984 (Curimatidae) from Amazon river system, Northern Brazil. In 40 specimens examined from December 2012 to November 2013, 615,818 parasites were collected, such as Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Piscinoodinium pilullare, Urocleidoides sp., Posthodiplostomum sp., Gorytocephalus elongorchis and Braga patagonica. The parasites’ component community had a low Brillouin diversity (0.16 ± 0.15), a low species richness (3.1 ± 0.7), a low evenness (0.09 ± 0.09) and a high dominance of Berger–Parker (0.96 ± 0.06). I. multifiliis was the dominant parasite species and it showed the highest prevalence and intensity in the host population. There was an aggregate dispersion of parasites, but the low parasitism did not affect the body condition of the host. The occurrence of parasites in C. incompta was due to their life habits and food behavior. This study, besides expanding the geographical distribution of G. elongorchis in Brazil, records the first occurrence of these six parasites in C. incompta.