Acta Parasitologica, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2005, 156-160 Pedro A. Maillo(1,2), Maria A. Vich(1,2), Humbert Salvado(1,2), Adam Marques(3) and Maria P. Gracia(1,2)* - Parasites of Anguilla anguilla (L.) from three coastal lagoons
of the River Ebro delta (Western Mediterranean)
(1)Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biology, Barcelona University, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona; (2)Centre de Referencia
de Recerca i Desenvolupament en Aquicultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain; (3)Department of Biology, Ecology and Environment,
Montpellier II University, Montpellier, France
*Corresponding author: pgracia@porthos.bio.ub.es
ABSTRACT
Data are presented on the parasite fauna of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.) in three coastal lagoons of the Ebro delta
(NE Spain). Ten parasite species were found, four protozoans: Eimeria anguillae, Trichodina pediculus, Myxidium giardi and
Myxobolus sp.; five helminths: Pseudodactylogyrus anguillae, Deropristis inflata, Bothriocephalus claviceps, Proteocephalus
macrocephalus, Anguillicola crassus and one crustacean: Ergasilus gibbus. The highest prevalences were reported for P. anguillae
84.6%, M. giardi 44.4% and A. crassus 30.8%. Helminth communities were dominated by monogenean P. anguillae. These
communities were compared with those from other European coastal lagoons.
KEY WORDS: Protozoan and metazoan parasites, fish, Anguilla anguilla, Ebro delta lagoons, Spain