Metazoan parasites of deep-sea fishes from the South Eastern Pacific: Exploring the role of ecology and host phylogeny

Digenean parasites of deep-sea teleosts: A progress report

“…The fact that abyssal plain parasites were only explored in the later twentieth century is explained by the expense and difficulty of collection of hosts at these depths. Collection from the upper bathyal can be considered an extension of commercial fishing and, indeed, several recent surveys have relied on by-catches of commercial fisheries ( Nacari and Oliva, 2016 ; Pardo-Gandarillas et al, 2007 ; Salinas et al, 2008 ). On the other hand, collection of abyssal fishes needs dedicated equipment such as a ship ‘with a winch capacity containing the 15,000 m or so of trawl wire necessary to fish below 4,000 m depth.…”

“…To collect from three-dimensionally complex surfaces such as parts of the mid-ocean ridges and hydrothermal vents other techniques are necessary. Pelagic trawling has been used for some studies of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge ( Klimpel et al, 2007 , 2008a , 2010 ), fish traps set by a submersible were used to supply hydro-thermal vent worms to Bray et al (2014) and long-lines were utilised by Nacari and Oliva (2016) .…”

“…Two recent papers have reported on deep-sea digeneans from the Southeastern Pacific Ocean, both relying on by-catches of commercial fisheries. Nacari and Oliva (2016) explored the parasite fauna of three macrourids, a morid and a synaphobranchid caught as by-catch of the Patagonian toothfish ( Dissostichus eleginoides Smitt) from Chilean waters at depths between 1000 and 2,000 m. They found the macrourids, especially Macrourus holotrachys , harboured many digeneans, mostly unidentified. Pardo-Gandarillas et al (2007) studied the parasites of Coelorinchus chilensis Gilbert & Thompson and Notacanthus sexspinis Richardson from the by-catch of a shrimp fishery off the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile.…”

“…Five species are reported from the abyssal plain. Profundivermis intercalarius (Lepidapedidae) was described in Coryphaenoides armatus at the depth of 4,850 m on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain by Bray and Gibson (1991) and the sample sequenced by Bray et al (1999) was from the same host species on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain at 4,143 m. This species was known only from abyssal regions until Nacari and Oliva (2016) reported it from Macrourus holotrachys off northern Chile at 1,000–2,200 m. This record needs verification. Lepidapedon beveridgei Campbell and Bray (1993) (Lepidapedidae) was described in C. armatus from 2,481 to 3,470 m from the New York Bight by Campbell and Bray (1993) .…”

Steringophorus merretti n. sp. (Digenea: Fellodistomidae) from the deep-sea fish Cataetyx laticeps Koefoed (Ophidiiformes: Bythitidae) from the Goban Spur, Northeastern Atlantic Ocean

“…Guinea) are of parasites of members of the deep-sea family Alepocephalidae (Gaevskaya & Aleshkina, 1983;Aleshkina & Gaevskaya, 1985). The report from off northern Chile (ecoregion 45, Warm Temperate Southeastern Pacific) is of an unnamed species from the macrourid Coryphaenoides ariommus Gilbert & Thompson (Nacari & Oliva, 2016). All reports with identified hosts from the Gulf of Mexico (ecoregion 6, Warm Temperate Northwest Atlantic, and ecoregion 12, Tropical Northwestern Atlantic) are from the deepsea families Ophidiidae, Argentinidae or Alepocephalidae (Manter, 1934(Manter, , 1947Harris & Dronen, 1999).…”