In the period of October 2007 to August 2008, 152 specimens ofPygocentrus nattereri were caught in the Negro River in the Nhecolândia region, central Pantanal wetland, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The specimens were necropsied and a total of 4,212 metazoan endoparasites were recovered, belonging to 10 taxons:Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus)inopinatus, Philometridae gen. sp.,Eustrongylides sp., Brevimulticaecum sp.,Contracaecum sp. (Nematoda), Echinorhynchus paranensis (Acanthocephala), Leiperia gracile,Sebekia oxycephala, Subtriquetra sp. 1 andSubtriquetra sp. 2 (Pentastomida). This is the first record of two parasite species from P. nattereri: E. paranensis and L. gracile.
Pygocentrus nattereri; Echinorhynchus paranensis; Leiperia gracile; helminths; freshwater fishes; piranhas