Investigation of the parasite Ooecoeloides furcatus that infects Mullus surmuletus fish in the marine waters of Sirte-Libya

Abstract

The Libyan city of Sirte is characterized by an important geographical location overlooking the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This coast is full of many fish species, which are important families to complete the life cycle of many parasites, which negatively affect the quality and size of fisheries in the country. It is an indicator of pollution in the region and among the important fish species in this region, which was characterized by the abundance of parasites in it, based on this study are the Mullus surmuletus fish, which is a benthic fish In this study, 70 Mullus surmuletus fish were collected from the marine waters of the city of Sirte-Libya in the period from January to March 2021. Fresh fish samples were transferred to the laboratory of the Faculty of Science –University of Sirte – Libya. Various measurements were taken for each sample, and then external examinations were conducted for each sample to observe its phenotypic changes. After that, each sample was dissected by the known scientific method. Various internal examinations were conducted for each sample, and many species of parasitic worms were extracted and their laboratory operations were performed on them, and they were examined under a light microscope. Among the helminthes that were extracted was the Opecoeloides furcatus parasite of the trematode, which was extracted from the intestines of the Mullus surmuletus fish This study aims to identify the parasites that infect fish, especially Mullus surmuletus fish, which may cause losses in fish wealth in the study area, as well as to know the extent of environmental pollution in the area under study, as these research studies on this subject in the study area are completely non-existent