Metazoan parasite fauna offrom the Yucatán Peninsula based on novel DNA sequence data, with an updated checklist of the host across its distributional range.

Abstract

The white mullet,(Mugilidae), is a catadromous euryhaline fish with an omnivorous diet, and is distributed mainly along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the Americas. Mullets represent an important economic resource for the artisanal fisheries in Mexico. In this study, 73 individuals ofwere analysed; specimens were sampled in 4 coastal lagoons of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, between 2022 and 2024. Parasite identification was accomplished by using DNA sequences. Nineteen parasite taxa were found, including 1 monopisthocotylan, 1 copepod, 1 acanthocephalan, 1 nematode, and 15 trematodes. Specimens were sequenced for a nuclear or mitochondrial molecular marker. Ten taxa are reported for the first time in this host species, including the adult trematodes;sp. 1 and sp. 2, Hemiuridae gen. sp., the larval trematodes,,sp.,sp., as well as the larval nematodeOf the 21 metazoan parasites recorded, 58% were adults and 42% were larval stages. The checklist of the metazoan parasites ofwas updated. Our study contributes to the understanding of the parasite diversity of an economically important fish species with a wide distribution range and corroborates the usefulness of combining morphological and molecular data for species identification and for linking larval forms with adults to complete parasite life cycles. Our results will be useful in further studies of parasites as bioindicators of ecosystem health, and studies of the role of parasites in food webs in coastal lagoons.