What can metazoan parasites reveal about the taxonomy of Scomber japonicus Houttuyn in the coast of South America and Madeira Islands?

Abstract

The metazoan parasites of four populations of the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus were analysed from two localities in the Atlantic Ocean (Madeira Islands, Portugal, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and two localities in the Pacific Ocean (Callao, Peru, and Antofagasta, Chile), collected during 2002 and 2003. A total of 373 fish specimens were studied and 34 metazoan parasite species were obtained. Parasites identified from the populations of chub mackerel studied could be separated into three categories: parasites with a wide distribution, present in the Pacific and Atlantic, parasites proper of the Pacific Ocean and parasites proper of the Atlantic Ocean. The analyses of some highly specific parasites of the genus Scomber (i.e. monogeneans of the genus Kuhnia and didymozoid digeneans) strongly suggest the need for a revision of the taxonomic status of chub mackerels from the Atlantic and Pacific coast of America. The results demonstrated the usefulness of parasites as adequate tools to clarify the taxonomic status of their hosts.

Parasites of the head of Scomber colias (Osteichthyes: Scombridae) from the western Mediterranean Sea

“…The results were compared with those of 10 localities of the Atlantic Ocean (Cremonte and Sardella 1997;Alves et al 2003;Shukhgalter 2004;Oliva et al 2008;Costa et al 2011) (Fig. 1, Table II), using both univariate and multivariate analyses.…”

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).…”

“…pristis (Rudolphi, 1802), Conger conger, Scomber japonicus, stomach, Oliva et al (2008), Costa et al (2004bCosta et al ( , 2009b.…”

“…Bolbosoma sp., Aphanopus carbo, Pagellus bogaraveo, Scomber japonicus, external stomach wall, Costa et al (1996), Oliva et al (2008), Hermida et al (2013b).…”

“…Hysterothylacium fabri (Rudolphi, 1819), Scomber japonicus, intestine, Oliva et al (2008). Onchophora melanocephala (Rudolphi, 1819), Scomber japonicus, body cavity, Costa et al (2009a).…”