Metazoan parasites of grey mullets (Teleostea: Mugilidae) from the Mistras Lagoon (Sardinia - western Mediterranean)

Paolo Merella,Giovanni Garippa

doi:10.3989/scimar.2001.65n3201

Abstract

A total of 127 specimens of grey mullets (Teleostea: Mugilidae) from the Mistras Lagoon (Sardinia - western Mediterranean) were examined for metazoan parasites. Five species of grey mullets were found: Chelon labrosus, Liza aurata, L. ramada, L. saliens and Mugil cephalus. Forty-one species of parasites were identified: 14 monogeneans, 5 crustaceans, 18 digeneans, 3 nematodes and 1 acanthocephalan; 26 of them being reported from Sardinia for the first time. Findings of faunal interest are: Ergenstrema sp. (Monogenea) in L. saliens; Caligus pageti (Crustacea) in L. aurata and L. saliens; Saturnius sp. (Digenea) in C. labrosus, L. aurata and L. saliens; Capillaria sp. (Nematoda) in C. labrosus, L. aurata and M. cephalus. The dynamics and distribution of ectoparasites were partially influenced by salinity, while the interpretation of the results for endoparasites was more complex. The data obtained show the richness of the parasite fauna of grey mullets from the Mistras Lagoon, providing additional environmental information on this body of water.

Highlights

Grey mullets are a cosmopolitan family of teleost fishes
In the brackish waters of the western. Mediterranean this family is represented by 5 species (Tortonese, 1975; Bauchot, 1987): Chelon labrosus (Risso, 1826), Liza aurata (Risso, 1810), L
Many data about the systematics of the parasites of mugilids are available in scientific papers, but works dealing with quantitative data and ecology are scarce; some research has been carried out in the United States (Rawson, 1973, 1976; Skinner, 1975), the Black Sea (Reshetnikova, 1955) and the Mediterranean (Ben Hassine, 1983; Radujkovic and Raibaut, 1989a; D’Amelio et al, 1996; D’Amelio and Gerasi, 1997)

Summary

Introduction

Grey mullets (family Mugilidae) are a cosmopolitan family of teleost fishes. Extensive and semi-intensive exploitation of these fishes has been practised for centuries in the Mediterranean region, south-east Asia, Taiwan, Japan and Hawaii, in lagoons and man-made ponds (Nash and Koningsberger, 1981). In the brackish waters of the western. Mediterranean this family is represented by 5 species (Tortonese, 1975; Bauchot, 1987): Chelon labrosus (Risso, 1826), Liza aurata (Risso, 1810), L. ramada (Risso, 1826), L. saliens (Risso, 1810) and. A comprehensive review of parasites of grey mullets world-wide has been published by Paperna and Overstreet (1981). In the present paper the metazoan parasite fauna of grey mullets from the Mistras Lagoon (Sardinia, western Mediterranean) (Fig. 1) is described. Most results of PARASITES OF GREY MULLETS FROM SARDINIA 201

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Conclusion