First Record of Pseudocapillaria tomentosa (Dujardin, 1845) Moravec, 1987 in Cultured Grass Carp in Basrah Province, Iraq

Abstract

A total of 110 specimens of cultured grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (Pisces: Cyprinidae) were collected from three different fish pond stations in Basrah province, during the period from March till July 2007. Postmortem parasitological examinations indicated infection of the grass carp with the nematode Pseudocapillaria tomentosa and this infection occurred only in Faddak fish ponds during all months of investigation. The maximum incidence of infection was 26.6% in April, while the maximum intensity of infection was 8.5 in June. The present finding of this nematodes represents its first record in Iraqi fishes.