SINUOLINEA-TETRAODONI NSP, A MYXOSPOREAN PARASITE OF FRESH-WATER PUFFERFISH TETRAODON-PALEMBANGENSIS FROM SOUTHEAST-ASIA - LIGHT AND ELECTRON-MICROSCOPE OBSERVATIONS

Sinuolinea tetraodoni n. sp. from the lumen of the kidney tubules and renal corpuscles of pufferfish Tetraodon palembangensis imported from Southeast Asia (Thailand, Sumatra) is described and illustrated. It is distinguished from all previously described members of the genus by the shape and the small size of the mature spore (length 9.56 +/- 0.51 mum; width 10.11 +/- 0.52 mum), the presence of a desmosome-like junction connecting the 2 spores in the pseudoplasmodium, and its geographical distribution. Prevalence of infection was 100 % in examined fish. Two triangular spores perpendicular in plane to the suture, developed within the surrounding pseudoplasmodium. Thin valves surrounded the binucleate sporoplasm cell and 2 spherical polar capsules (3.19 x 3.21 mum). Data concerning ultrastructure and sporogenesis are also presented.