Acta Parasitologica, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2005, 97-101 Neil Campbell - The myxosporean parasitofauna of the Atlantic horse mackerel,
Trachurus trachurus (L.) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), Zoology Building, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB24 2TZ, U.K.
*Corresponding address: Neil.Campbell@abdn.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
As part of a multidisciplinary stock identification study 1002 horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus (L.) from 12 sites in the North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea were examined for the presence of myxosporean parasites, with the aim of identifying species that could be used as biological tags. Five species of myxosporean parasites were found. Examination of gall bladders revealed infections with Alataspora serenum, A. solomoni and an unidentified Kudoa sp., while Kudoa nova was found in the red muscles. The liver of a single fish was found to be infected with Myxobolus spinacurvatura. Infection with A. solomoni and M. spinacurvatura represents new host records. Kudoa sp. is likely to be a previously undescribed species. A. serenum, A. solomoni and K. nova are shown to be potentially useful tags for stock identification.
KEY WORDS: Myxosporean parasites, fish, Trachurus trachurus, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea