Abstract
Cestodes are parasitic flatworms that live in the digestive tract of vertebrates as adults and often in the liver, muscle, haemocoel, mesentery and brain of various animals as larval stages. To identify the cestodes infecting Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822 (sharptooth catfish) in the Vaal Dam, a total of 45 host specimens were collected with the aid of gill nets between October 2011, January and April 2012. The fish were sacrificed and examined for cestode parasites. Two adult cestodes, Tetracampos ciliotheca Wedl, 1861 (prevalence 86.7%, mean intensity = 15, n = 45) and Proteocephalus glanduligerus (Janicki, 1928) (prevalence 51.1%, mean intensity = 5, n = 45) were found in the intestines of the catfish. Both T. ciliotheca and P. glanduligerus are new locality records. There were statistically insignificant differences in the infection of the male and female C. gariepinu. Fish with standard length ranging from 40 cm - 54 cm (≥ 3 years) had the highest prevalence and mean intensity while those ranging from 10 cm - 24 cm (< 1 year) had the lowest prevalence and mean intensity for both cestodes. The study highlights the importance of changing feeding habits of C. gariepinus with age on the prevalence and mean intensity of the two gastrointestinal cestode parasites.
Highlights
Cestodes represent a highly specific group within Neodermata that is characterised by several striking morphological features, the most obvious one being the evolutionary loss of a digestive tract throughout all developmental stages
T. ciliotheca, a pseudophyllidean (Figure 2) and P. glanduligerus, a proteocephalid were encountered in catfish examined from the Vaal Dam
The genus, Tetracampos was recently resurrected by Kuchta et al (2008) on the basis of an examination of new material from the type-host in Sudan, its comparison with type specimens of the taxa described from African catfish and a critical study of the literature, including the original description of T. ciliotheca by Wedl (1861)
Summary
Cestodes represent a highly specific group within Neodermata that is characterised by several striking morphological features, the most obvious one being the evolutionary loss of a digestive tract throughout all developmental stages. Khalil (1971) published the first checklist of parasites of freshwater fish in Africa and in its updated edition (Khalil & Polling 1997) a total of 359 species of helminths, including 61 species of adult and larval tapeworms (Cestoda), were reported. The sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) is one of the favoured fish species for aquaculture in Africa (Awachie & Ezwenwaji 1981). The catfish is an omnivorous fish and can survive in extremely harsh conditions, a feature that has made it favourable for culture in many parts of the world (Peteri, Nandi & Choridhury 1992). With the growing interest in the development of aquaculture in Africa, there is an increase in the awareness of the role of parasites and diseases as major factors affecting fish farming (Paperna 1996). It is imperative that the parasites that infect fish in natural waters are investigated to form the basis for management of parasite infections in fish farms
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