Cotylophoron marajoensis n. sp. (Digenea: Paramphistomidae) a parasite of Bubalus bubalis on Marajó Island, Pará, Brazilian Amazon

Abstract The genus Cotylophoron belongs to the Paramphistomidae family and its definitive hosts are ruminants in general. This work describes the presence of a new species of the gender, a parasite in the rumen and reticulum of Bubalus bubalis, on Marajó Island in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, using of light microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy and molecular biology techniques. One hundred and ten animals were analyzed, of which 4.54% were parasitized by flukes in their adult forms. The helminths were found fixed to the ruminal mucosa and present Liorchis-type pharynx, Cotylophoron-type genital sucker, oblique testicles larger than the ovary, uterus in rings full of eggs and Cotylophoron-type acetabulum. These morphologic characters do not fit into any previously described species. Thus, it is proposed that this is a new species in the genus Cotylophoron. The present work expands the record of parasitism by helminths in Bubalus bubalis, this being the first record of trematoda from the genus Cotylophoron for this host in the Brazilian Amazon.