Metazoan parasites of Cyprinus carpio L. (Cyprinidae) from Mozambique

Abstract

The development of aquaculture in Mozambique is very important in the country’s development. Although one of the most important freshwater fish species culture in the country is the common carp, Cyprinus carpio, nothing is known about their parasites. In order to contribute to this knowledge a two-year study was conducted on the metazoan parasites of common carp from the River Limpopo and the Lagoon Chuáli, located in the provinces of Gaza and Maputo respectively, south of Mozambique. Nine metazoan parasite species were detected in common carp: one Digenea ( Clinostomum tilapiae), two Cestoda ( Parvitaenia samfya and Cyclustera sp.), one Acanthocephala ( Acanthogyrus tilapiae), two Nematoda ( Contracaecum sp. and Procamallanus sp.) and three Crustacea ( Lamproglena monodi, Lernaea cyprinacea and Dolops ranarum). Specimens of Cyclustera sp. and Procamallanus sp. were not detected in Lagoon Chualí. Parasite infection levels were very low and the abundance values, except for P. samfya, were always lower than 1. The parasite communities of common carp from River Limpopo and Lagoon Chuáli were very similar, exhibited low diversity and were dominated by a single species, P. samfya.