The parasitic isopod Anilocra physodes (Cymothoidae; Crustacea) on its fish host from the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Mourad Bendada ¹
• Abderrahmane Hadini ²
• Youssef Moallaqat ³
• Khalid El Bekkaye ²
• Khalid Chaabane ²

¹ Department of biology, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed First University, Oujda

² Department of biology, Faculty of sciences, Mohammed First University, Oujda

³ The National Office of Fisheries, Laboratory Wholesale fish market of Oujda, Oujda 60000, Morocco

10.22067/ijvst.2025.91719.1463

Abstract

This study examined the parasitism of three species of fish, Pagellus bogaraveo, (family Sparidae), Sardina pilchardus (family Clupeidae) and Umbrina canariensis (family Sciaenidae), collected from the Atlantic coast of Morocco. A total of 5419 fish individuals were examined. Among them, 3600 fish individuals of Sardina pilchardus, 920 of Umbrina canariensis and 899 of Pagellus bogaraveo, were found to carry 328 isopod parasites of the species Anilocra physodes (family Cymothoidae). Most of these ectoparasitic isopods were primarily located on the body surface and within the gill chambers of their fish hosts. Parasitism of fish species was quantified using various parasitic indices (prevalence, intensity which is the mean number of parasites per infected host and abundance) were calculated for all species. The evaluation of the parasitic indices revealed that the infestation rates by A. physodes were relatively low and do not exceed 11.11% of prevalence. Regarding the parasite loads, the mean infestation intensity is ranged between 1 and 2 parasites per infected fish. On the other hand, the abundance values remain below 0.14 parasites per fish examined in all the host species by A. physodes. These results confirm that infestation is strongly correlated with the host fish species studied. This study provides valuable insights into the effects of this ectoparasite crustacea on fishes health, emphasizing the need for fisheries management strategies and marine conservation in the region.

Keywords

• Cymothoid isopods
• ectoparasites
• Anilocra physodes
• parasitic indices
• parasitism

Main Subjects

• Parasitology

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