Habitat selection and maturation of Saccocoelioides nanii (Digenea: Haploporidae) in Prochilodus argenteus (Actinopterygii: Prochilodontidae) from the São Francisco River, Brazil

This work examined the possible preference of Saccocoelioides nanii Szidat, 1954 for the three major intestinal portions of Prochilodus argenteus Agassiz, 1829 and statistically evaluated whether the river water level dynamic interfered in the parasite's ecological parameters and in its transmission to the definitive host. One-hundred-fifty specimens of P. argenteus were collected in July, 2003 (dry season) and in January, 2004 (rainy season) in the upper São Francisco River, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Of the 150 hosts, 96 (64%) were parasitized by S. nanii. The mean intensity and abundan...