Endohelminth parasites of the blacktail comber Serranus atricauda (Pisces: Serranidae), from Madeira Archipelago (Atlantic Ocean)

Abstract

Four different endohelminth parasite taxa were found in the viscera of the blacktail comber Serranus atricauda Günther, 1874 caught in the Madeira Archipelago. Nematodes were the dominant group, represented by 2 different taxa, Hysterothylacium spp. Ward & Magath, 1917 and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) halitrophus Fusco & Overstreet, 1978 comb. n. Plerocerci of the trypanorhynch Pseudogrillotia epinepheli (synonym: Grillotia epinepheli) Scholz, Garippa & Scala, 1993, and cystacanths of the acanthocephalan Bolbosoma vasculosum Rudolphi, 1819 were found in the visceral cavity. New host records for P. (S.) halitrophus and P. epinepheli and the extension of the geographic distribution of these 2 parasite species provide evidence of parasite transference between the Madeira Archipelago, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico. The paucity of the parasite fauna of blacktail comber reflect a combination of fish host selective feeding on particular dietary items and its territorial behaviour.KEY WORDS: Serranidae · Serranus atricauda · Trypanorhyncha · Anisakid · Hysterothylacium · Bolbosoma vasculosum · Acanthocephala · Madeira Island Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 103: [55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] 2013 range, its parasites may prove to be valuable as environmental and population structure indicators (MacKenzie 1999, Cuyás et al. 2004, as well as providing an understanding of parasite zoogeographic relationships. The present study: (1) established a baseline for the parasite fauna of S. atricauda caught off Madeira and the Selvagens Islands (Macaronesian Biogeographic Region, Atlantic Ocean), (2) examined changes in parasite biodiversity between 2 sampling events, (3) described the geographic links of parasites found in the Madeira Archipelago with the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fish hosts, collection and morphological examination of parasitesFrom February to June 1998, 31 blacktail comber Serranus atricauda were caught off the Selvagens Islands and examined for endohelminth parasites. Fish ranged in length from 13.8 to 31.5 cm (24.3 ± 0.8; mean ± standard error). The viscera of 34 fish ob tained at the Funchal fish market (Madeira Island) were also examined. Both sampling regions, Ma deira and the Selvagens Islands, are part of the Madeira Archipelago, Macaronesian Biogeographic Region, 30°01' 35'' to 30°09' 10'' N and 15°52' 15'' to 16°03' 15'' W). The viscera of the 34 market blacktail comber were examined fresh, and the 31 fish from the Selvagens Islands were frozen and later defrosted in the laboratory. A second sampling event, in October 2010, consisted of 23 blacktail comber ranging in length from 17 to 36.0 cm (26.5 ± 0.9) caught off the Selvagens Islands. These fish were examined fresh, immediately after being caught. The liver, stomach, pyloric caeca and intestines of all fish were examined with the aid of a binocular microscope (Zeiss Stemi 2000). Fresh squashes were also examined with a h...

Parasites of marine, freshwater and farmed fishes of Portugal: a review

“…Nematodes were the most prevalent parasites, followed by cestodes, monogenea and digenea. It should be noted that most of the findings on fish parasites in Madeira are mainly due to the work of Costa G. et al (1996Costa G. et al ( , 1998Costa G. et al ( , 2000Costa G. et al ( , 2003aCosta G. et al ( , b, 2004aCosta G. et al ( , b, 2007Costa G. et al ( , 2009aCosta G. et al ( , b, 2012Costa G. et al ( , 2013aCosta G. et al ( , b, 2014Costa G. et al ( , 2016, and also of Hermida et al (2008Hermida et al ( , 2012aHermida et al ( , b, 2013aHermida et al ( , b, 2014Hermida et al ( , 2015, Santos et al (2009) andOliva et al (2008).…”

Homogeneity of parasite assemblages of Dules auriga (Serranidae) in hydrographically heterogeneous sites

“…These invertebrates display a restricted vagility in comparison with pelagic and migratory fishes, and are therefore expected to harbour and transmit parasite assemblages typical of their particular site of occurrence. On the other hand, serranids display sedentary habits and a high site fidelity (March et al ., ; Costa et al ., ), which makes them more suitable hosts for representing local exposure to infective stages.…”