A new species of Temnocephala Blanchard (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida) ectosymbiont on Trichodactylus fluviatilis Latreille (Crustacea, Decapoda, Trichodactylidae) from southern Brazil

Abstract

Temnocephala trapeziformis sp. nov., ectosymbiont on Trichodactylus fluviatilis Latreille, 1828 is described from the State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Sixty-eight crabs were examined, of which 61 (89.7 %) were positive for this species of the genus Temnocephala Blanchard, 1849. Eggs, as well as adult and young specimens, were found on the pleural areas of the carapace, in the orbital cavities, and, usually, on the fourth pair of pereiopods. The temnocephalans were always devoid of body pigmentation, although they kept the red eye pigment, undiluted in specimens fixed by hot (90ºC) phosphate buffered 10% formalin. The most distinctive characters of the new species are: 1) the shape and size of the cirrus and the characteristics of its introvert section; 2) the trapezoidal shape of the dorsolateral post-tentacular 'excretory' epidermal syncytial plates, with the nephridiopore in the lower inner corner of the plate; and 3) the number, size, and distribution of the rhabdite producing glands, as observed in very young specimens.