Parasites of the Lessepsian invasive fish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin 1789) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

ABSTRACT

Lagocephalus sceleratus, is a Lessepsian invasive fish species introduced into the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. This study investigated it as host of parasites. Out of 41 individuals caught from northern and southern locations of the eastern Aegean Sea, nine were found to host parasites. Gnathia sp. praniza larva, an ectoparasite, was associated with severe damage of the primary and secondary structures of the gills and it was found in one specimen (prevalence 2.4%). Regarding endoparasites, Anisakis type I third-stage larvae were found in two specimens (prevalence 4.9%). In addition, adult nematodes of Hysterothylacium aduncum were found in another six specimens (prevalence 14.6%). Lagocephalus sceleratus is a new host for some indigenous parasites, with low host specificity, in the Mediterranean Sea, providing an additional niche for the success and increase of local populations of these parasites and, to our knowledge, this is the first record of L. sceleratus parasites in this area. Whether these parasites can control the invasion success of L. sceleratus needs to be further investigated. However, the low mean intensity of infection found in this study does not support such control.

KEYWORDS:

• Lagocephalus sceleratus
• parasites
• Gnathia sp.
• Anisakis sp.
• Hysterothylacium aduncum

Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to Dr F. Moravec for his valuable guidance in identifying nematode parasites. This study was funded by Institutional funds from the Department of Marine Sciences, University of The Aegean, Greece.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Marine Sciences, University of The Aegean.