On the occurrence of the digenean Otodistomum veliporum in the spiracle of the kitefin shark Dalatias licha

Sperone, Emilio; Milazzo, Concetta

doi:10.32582/aa.59.1.11

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The presence of other parasites, such as nematodes (Anisakis simplex and Raphidascaris sp. ), has been previously reported in other Mediterranean kitefin sharks (Henderson et al, 2003) as well as the presence of Hexabothriids (Kheddam et al, 2016), monogeneans (Septitrema lichae in nasal tissue; Kheddam et al, 2020), and digenean trematodes (Otodistomum veliporum; Sperone and Milazzo, 2018). However, this is the first study reporting the presence of flatworms as endoparasites of the kitefin shark.…”

Section: B a Figurementioning

confidence: 48%

Jaws from the deep: biological and ecological insights on the kitefin shark Dalatias licha from the Mediterranean Sea

Bottaro,

Sinopoli,

Bertocci

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Due to their late maturation, extreme longevity, low fecundity and slow growth rates, deep-sea Chondrichthyes are extremely vulnerable to human impacts. Moreover, assessing the impact of deep-sea fisheries is difficult, as many species (including sharks) are part of the bycatch and are often discarded at sea, and/or landed under generic commercial-species codes. The lack of this information on fishery data sets and the limited availability of species-specific life history data make challenging the management of deep-sea Chondrichthyes. The kitefin shark Dalatias licha is a cosmopolitan elasmobranch, mainly found on continental and insular shelf-breaks and slopes in warm-temperate and tropical waters. This species is a common by-catch of the deep-sea trawling, considered as “Endangered” by the IUCN Red List for all European waters, Mediterranean Sea included. Here we present the results of a study based on a total of 78 specimens of kitefin shark collected over 3 years in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean) as by-catch from deep-water fisheries. Total length ranged from 380 to 1164 mm, and individual weight ranged from 198 to 8000 g. Immature and mature individuals showed a sex ratio dominated by males. Adult males were observed throughout the year, while mature females were observed only in spring-summer. These data lead to hypothesise a spatial segregation between genders. The kitefin shark diet was dominated by bony fish (mainly Macrouridae) and other small sharks (e.g., Galeus melastomus and Etmopterus spinax), but their gut included plastic items and parasites. Data reported here underline the rarity, complex ecology and the threat for this shark species and support the urgency of promoting initiatives for their monitoring and conservation.

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Section: B a Figurementioning

confidence: 48%

Jaws from the deep: biological and ecological insights on the kitefin shark Dalatias licha from the Mediterranean Sea

Bottaro,

Sinopoli,

Bertocci

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…According to our results, the only O. veliporum specimen found suggests a low density of populations of intermediate hosts in the diet of H. griseus present in the Strait of Messina. Recently, Sperone and Milazzo [57] described O. veliporum in kitefin shark (Dalatias licha, Bonnaterre, 1788) from the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea). In this case, the authors reported one O. veliporum specimen, attached to the mucosa of a D. licha spiracle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Helminths of the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark, Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788), from the Strait of Messina (Sicily, Southern Italy)

Benedetto

Capparucci

Iaria

et al. 2023

Animals

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Bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788), is a little-known elasmobranch in the Mediterranean Sea. Given the lack of information about H. griseus, the aim of our study was to describe the helminth fauna of this species. In March 2023, one H. griseus juvenile female specimen was found off the coast of Messina (Italy) and referred by the Italian Coast Guard to our laboratory for necropsy and parasitological evaluation. After necropsy, the specimen’s gills, stomach and spiral valve were investigated for parasite presence. All collected parasites were stored in 70% ethanol for routine parasitological analysis. No lesions due to parasites were found in the gills or skin. Three species of helminths were found in one studied female specimen of Hexanchus griseus, namely, two cestode species (Phyllobothrium sinuosiceps and Nybelinia sp., larvae) and one trematode (Otodistomum veliporum). Among them, five Trypanorhyncha plerocercoid larvae were found attached to the stomach mucosa, and six adult cestodes and one digenean trematode were collected from the spiral valve. No other parasite taxa were found in the celomic organs. This study reports new information regarding the parasitic fauna of H. griseus from the central Mediterranean Sea.

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“…Management efforts from local to regional domains thus require an ocean observation system that monitors marine life in key areas (Costello et al, 2017). Calabria lies in the centre of the Mediterranean, between the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian seas and, together with Sicily and the Tunisian coast, divides the Mediterranean Sea into western and eastern parts (Sperone et al, 2012). Within the region, the Strait of Messina is very important because together with the Sicily-Tunisian Ridge it is one of the two conjunction points between the western and the eastern basins of the Mediterranean Sea for both native and non-native species (Sperone et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the region, the Strait of Messina is very important because together with the Sicily-Tunisian Ridge it is one of the two conjunction points between the western and the eastern basins of the Mediterranean Sea for both native and non-native species (Sperone et al, 2015). For these reasons, the position of Calabria is strategic to collect data about chondrichthyans that historically occurred in the entire Mediterranean Sea, and a monitoring program of the University of Calabria has been collecting data on occurrence of the cartilaginous fishes in this important biogeographic area since 2000 (Sperone et al, 2012;Sperone & Milazzo, 2018;. Distribution, ecology, and biology of these fishes are little known for this region, especially for some charismatic and endangered species, such as the white shark (Huveneers et al, 2018;Leone et al, 2020;Mancusi et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An updated checklist of chondrichthyans of Calabria (Central Mediterranean, southern Italy), with emphasis on rare species

et al. 2020

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In this contribution the checklist of chondrichthyans of Calabria (Central Mediterranean, southern Italy) is reported. Data presented is derived from twenty years of opportunistic and active surveys from 2000 to 2020. A total of 55 species of chondrichthyans is present in Calabrian seas: 33 sharks, 20 rays, and 2 chimaeras. These species represent approximately 62% of the total reported for the Mediterranean. Approximately 71% of Calabrian species have been reported in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 49% in the Ionian Sea, and 33% in the Strait of Messina. According to IUCN criteria, new records of Endangered and Critically Endangered species (i.e., Carcahrodon carcharias [Linnaeus, 1758], Lamna nasus [Bonnaterre, 1788], Cetorhinus maximus [Gunnerus, 1765], Mobula mobular [Bonnaterre, 1788], Sphyrna zygaena [Linnaeus, 1758]) are reported, together with the first record of Raya brachyura Lafont, 1873 for the Ionian coasts and probably third confirmed record of the rare chimaera Hydrolagus mirabilis (Collett, 1904) for the Mediterranean.

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On the occurrence of the digenean Otodistomum veliporum in the spiracle of the kitefin shark Dalatias licha

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Jaws from the deep: biological and ecological insights on the kitefin shark Dalatias licha from the Mediterranean Sea

Jaws from the deep: biological and ecological insights on the kitefin shark Dalatias licha from the Mediterranean Sea

Helminths of the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark, Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788), from the Strait of Messina (Sicily, Southern Italy)

An updated checklist of chondrichthyans of Calabria (Central Mediterranean, southern Italy), with emphasis on rare species

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