A new myxosporidian, Henneguya intracornea n.sp., parasitizing the ocular cornea of a freshwater characidian fish Astyanax scabripinnis (Jenyns, 1842), is described. The parasitized hosts have been collected from water reservoirs. These aquatic environments were constructed at small natural branches of Atibaia and Jaguari rivers, near Campinas, SP, Brazil. The different developmental stages of H. intracornea n.sp., as well as their morphological and biological characteristics are studied. In all cases examined it was observed that the myxosporidian only occurred in the cornea. The most important morphological characteristics of this new species are its bottle-shaped polar capsules and their unequal caudal processes.
Henneguya intracornea n.sp.; Myxosporea; Astyanax scabripinnis; Characidae