Fine Structure of the Plasmodia and Myxospore of Ellipsomyxa gobioides n. sp. (Myxozoa) Found in the Gallbladder of Gobioides broussonnetii (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the Lower Amazon River

A fish infecting myxosporean Ellipsomyxa gobioides n. sp. is described in the gallbladder of the Amazonian dragon fish Gobioides broussonnetii. Irregular disporous plasmodia (up to ~30 μm in diameter) with long branched and anastomosed pseudopodia were found attached to the gallbladder wall. Mature ellipsoid myxospores occurring floating in the bile measured 6.8 (6.5–7.0) μm (n = 30) long, 7.2 (6.9–7.5) μm (n = 15) wide, and 13.1 (12.8–13.5) (n = 25) thick. They had smooth thin valves elongated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the straight central transverse sutural line. The two ellipsoidal polar capsules (PC) opened some distance from the sutural line on opposite sides, each measuring 4.6 (4.3–4.8) μm (n = 15) long and 2.5 (2.1–2.7) μm (n = 20) wide. Distance between PC 3.5 (3.1–3.8) μm (n = 15) in apical view. The polar filament was isofilar and consisted of a single coil with five or six turns. The objective of this study was to characterize this new species based on its morphological differences from the three previously described species. This is the first reported species of genus Ellipsomyxa from among the South American fauna.