PREVALENCE AND HISTOPATHOLOGY OF Neoechinorhynchus 517 PREVALENCE AND HISTOPATHOLOGY OF Neoechinorhynchus curemai NORONHA, 1973 (ACANTHOCEPHALA: NEOECHINORHYNCHIDAE) IN

(With 5 figures) The present work studied the prevalence and histopathology of Neoechinorhynchus curemai Noronha, 1973 (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae) from curimbatá, Prochilodus lineatus Valenciennes, 1836. Eighteen fishes with averages of 46.7 + 1.1 cm length and 1,674.8 + 75.6 g weight were collected with net, bimonthly from December 1995 thru December 1996 in the hydroelectric power station of Volta Grande Reservoir (Cemig), Minas Gerais, Brazil. From analysed fishes, 15 were infected with acanthocephalans in the intestine (prevalence 83.3%). The greatest mean intensity occurred in Au-gust 1996 with 66.5 (16 to 208) parasites. Histopathological analysis showed complete desquama-tion of the intestinal epithelium with severe hyperplasia and hypertrofia of the goblet cells. Severe inflammatory reaction at the submucosa, displacement of their sheaf, associated with oedema an