New data on morphometry, feeding, and parasitic fauna of Atlantic spiny lumpsucker Eumicrotremus spinosus (Cyclopteridae) from the Barents Sea

Abstract

Data on morphometric analysis, feeding, and parasitic fauna of the Atlantic spiny lumpsucker Eumicrotremus spinosus from the Northwestern Barents Sea are given. The amount of food in the whole digestive tract of fish in the evening (18.00–02.00) is high; the weight of food bolus averaged 1/9 of the weight of the fish without guts; the average index of fullness of the stomach was 1018‱. The small hyperiids Themisto abyssorum constituted the basis of food; Th. libellula, gammarides of the family Lysianassidae, and Gammarus wilkitzkii were consumed to a lesser degree. The pink shrimp Pandalus borealis and euphausiid Thysanoessa inermis are noted singly; the polychaetes of genus Nereis also serve as occasional food. Parasitic fauna of the Atlantic spiny lumpsucker is represented by the larvae of Anisakis simplex that are located on the liver parenchyma and pyloric appendages. The parasitic copepod Lernaeocera branchialis was found on the gills of one of the females.