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During a search for parasites in fishes from Iguazu River, Argentina, a nymph of pentastomid was found encysted on mesenteries of Phalloceros harpagos. The 28S rDNA and COI mt-DNA were used to compare with the sequences deposited in the GenBank. Pentastomid nymphs belong to the subfamily Diesingiinae (Sebekidae) for having chloride cell pores distributed in a single row per annulus; also, the hooks and rows of spines of our material differ to other genera. Present specimens are most likely Diesingia sp., having 63-74 annuli, a U shaped oral cadre with fibers closing anteriorly and a peg like extension of the oral cadre. The 28S rDNA analysis places our samples into a sister group of Alofia sp., but the COI mt-DNA situate them on the base of the clade. In conclusion, our pentastomid positively belongs to Diesingia sp., however, indisputable assignation requires a reliable description of the nymph, or the availability of sequences linking nymphs and adults, which even could provide evidence of a new hitherto undescribed genus. Aditionally, the systematic position of Sebekia oxycephala previously described by P. harpagos is discussed on the basis of our results, allowing us to suggest a re-assignation of such specimens to the genus Diesingia.

Trichodina centrostrigeata Basson, Van As et Paperna, 1983 from Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) and O. niloticus (Linnaeus) from different host populations from Argentina, Mexico and South Africa was reviewed. Although T. centrostrigeata has a distinct denticle structure that makes morphological taxonomic inferences uncomplicated, variation of the denticles within and among individuals and populations were still observed. While traditional taxonomy of mobilines is heavily reliant on morphometrics, and recently even more so on molecular analysis, this paper proposes the use of geometric morphometry, specifically elliptical Fourier analysis, to address morphological conflicts that arise when comparing different populations. By applying this technique, combined with traditional taxonomy, it was found that T. centrostrigeata in this study can be grouped into two separate morphotypes, the first (type a) from aquaculture farms in Argentina and Mexico and the second (type b) from a natural habitat in Glen Alpine Dam, South Africa. This study supports the validity of geometric morphometry as an additional technique to distinguish not only between species but also evolutionary plasticity of the same species from different localities and habitats.

Tilapia is the common name for a wide spectrum of cichlid fishes usually selected for aquaculture activities. However, some aspects of the natural history of these fishes, such as the diversity of certain ectoparasitic protistan groups remain understudied. In order to understand the diversity of ciliates of the family Trichodinidae parasitizing tilapia around the world, a database with all available accounts was assembled. This information, along with records derived from our own recent research, allowed us to generate a checklist containing all the records for tilapia-Trichodinidae associations. The checklist is presented as a host-parasite list containing 44 nominal taxa from 29 countries on four continents, and it also presents the first data from Argentina, where tilapia culture is still an incipient, but growing activity. The observed high species richness of trichodinids is probably derived from a set of specific taxa for tilapia, along with an important component of species acquired from the new environments where tilapia have been introduced. Data presented here could be used along with existing information of metazoan parasites to build a general view about diseases that affect tilapia.