New host–parasite records of siphonostomatoid copepods infesting elasmobranch fishes in Tunisian waters

Abstract

Between 2013 and 2015, 2092 chondrichthyan fish belonging to eight species were collected along the Tunisian coast and examined for parasitic copepods. Eleven different species of copepods representing five families, Caligidae, Eudactylinidae, Kroyeriidae, Lernaeopodidae and Pandaridae, were collected. Three of these species are reported for the first time in Tunisia (Pseudocharopinus malleus, Perissopus dentatus and Nesippus orientalis) and one new species of Kroyeria was found. In addition, we identified a number of new host records including: the presence of Eudactylinella alba on Bathytoshia centroura, Dasyatis pastinaca, Mustelus mustelus and Scyliorhinus canicula. This is the first record of Nemesis sp. on B. centroura in Tunisia. We report here for the first time the presence of Pseudocharopinus bicaudatus and Pseudocharopinus concavus on Bathytoshia centroura and Lernaeopoda galei on Raja clavata.

Non-native species in the north Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) revealed from environmental DNA

“…On the other hand, we found DNA of the Mediterranean fish Raja clavata (Table 4). This species is not invasive, but it carries parasites that could endanger Red Sea native elasmobranchs (Petter and Radujkovic, 1989;Youssef et al, 2019).…”

The survey of ectoparasites on two species of Triakids (Mustelus mustelus and M. punctulatus) sharks from Tunisian coasts

“…The body of a shark confers many attachment sites for other organisms ( Dippenaar and Molele, 2015 ). However, the studies of their parasites are scarce and with a main focus on single taxonomic group, such as copepods ( Essafi, 1975 , Benmansour and Youssef, 2019 , Youssef et al, 2019 ) and monogenea ( Neifar, 2001 ), disregarding other phyla. The aim of the current work was to provide original data on the parasitic taxa found on Mustelus mustelus and M. punctulatus bodies within Tunisian waters in order to analyse their taxonomic richness on both host species and to better understand the associations with their hosts.…”