Systematic status of Laurotravassoxyuris bravoae Osorio-Sarabia, 1984 (Nematoda: Pharyngodonidae) [= Atractis bravoae (Osorio-Sarabia, 1984) n. comb.: Cosmocercidae]

Re-examination of type-specimens of the nematode Laurotravassoxyuris bravoae Osorio-Sarabia, 1984, originating from the type-host, Cichlasoma istlanum Jordan et Snyder, from Mexico, has shown that these do not belong to Oxyuroidea Cobbold, 1864; in fact, the specimens included in the type-series of L. bravoae belong to two different families of the Cosmocercoidea Railliet, 1916: the Atractidae Railliet, 1917 and the Cosmocercidae Railliet, 1916. Both forms are described. Since the holotype of L. bravoae belongs to the former family, this species is transferred to Atractis Dujardin, 1845 as A. bravoae (Osorio-Sarabia, 1984) n. comb., whereas the female nematodes, belonging to the latter family, cannot be explicitly assigned to a genus or a species (although they might be conspecific with Raillietnema kritscheri Moravec, Salgado-Maldonado & Pineda-López, 1993). A. bravoae is the first species of Atractis reported from fishes; its morphology differs distinctly from that in other congeners.