Morphological and Molecular Characteristics of Kudoa viseuensis n. sp. (Myxosporea: Multivalvulida), Found in the Muscle of Batrachoides surinamensis (Teleostei: Batrachoididae) in the Brazilian Amazon Region

A new species of myxozoan, Kudoa viseuensis n. sp. (Myxosporea: Multivalvulida), is described based on specimens extracted from the musculature of the Pacuma toadfish, Batrachoides surinamensis, collected in the municipality of Viseu, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará. A total of 60 specimens of B. surinamensis were examined, of which 52 (86%) presented whitish pseudocysts containing numerous rounded spores (7.2±0.2 μm in length and 5.2±0.2 μm in width). These spores have four polar capsules of equal size, measuring 1.8±0.2 μm x 1.3±0.1 μm in the apical view, and 2.7±0.2 μm x 1.3±0.1 μm in the lateral view. A partial sequence (1400  bps) of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene was obtained and deposited in GenBank (access number: MK256272). The comparison of the morphological and molecular data with those of other Kudoa species supported the description of a new species of mixosporean from the Amazon region, which is denominated here as Kudoa viseuensis n. sp.