TWO NEW NEMATODE SPECIES, ORIENTATRACTIS CAMPECHENSIS N. SP. AND ORIENTATRACTIS CHIAPASENSIS N. SP. (NEMATODA: ATRACTIDAE) FROM CICHLID FISHES IN SOUTHERN MEXICO AND NICARAGUA

Two new nematode species, Orientatractis campechensis n. sp. and Orientatractis chiapasensis n. sp. (Atractidae, Cosmocercoidea), are described from the intestine of cichlid fishes collected in localities of southeastern Mexico and Nicaragua. These atractid nematodes are characterized by the presence of a cephalic end armed with 4 marked, Y-shaped, well-sclerotized pieces, consisting of 2 “horns” extending outward and downward and immediately below a single-horned structure. Both new species differ from the other 2 species of Orientatractis (Orientatractis leiperi and Orientatractis levanhoai) mainly in the body measurements, presence of a vulvar appendix, lengths of spicules and of the gubernaculum, distribution of caudal papillae, and the number of anterior sclerotized structures. Morphological and biometrical variations were evident among specimens from different hosts and localities, with the larger organisms being collected from Vieja bifasciata and Cichlasoma pearsei. Orientatractis campechensis and O. chiapasensis represent the first 2 species of this genus parasitizing freshwater fishes; the other species have been found in amphibians and reptiles.