Biodiversity of acanthocephala in Mexico

Abstract

Richness of acanthocephalans associated to wild vertebrates of Mexico is currently composed of 60 nominal species, representing 5% of the known diversity for this group worldwide. This value was derived from the analysis of 227 host species in 28 states of the country, among which the actinopterygians were the most intensively studied vertebrate group, with 151 species being reported as hosts of at least 1 species of acanthocephalan. We believe that knowledge of the diversity of this group of helminths is still limited, especially if we consider that 94.5% of 5 488 recorded vertebrates in the country have not been reported as hosts for species of this group. Only through a systematic study that integrates ecological, morphological, and molecular data, a more comprehensive view of this group of parasites will be obtained.