Cichlidogyrus and Enterogyrus (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) infecting Pseudocrenilabrus philander in Nwanedi River
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The Southern mouthbooder, Pseudocrenilabrus philander (Weber, 1897), with its opalescent blue and pale yellow colours could become an important ornamental fish. This species is already utilized by sudsintence fishermen in the Limpopo Province as an additional source of protein and they are valuable in behavioural and evolutionary research. Parasites (including monogeneans) cause huge economic losses in the agricultural industry with aquaculture being not exeption. The crowed circumstance in culture systems may lead to an increase in monogenean infestation, with consequent high mortalities and economic losses. Understanding the naturally occuring parasites of this fish is therefore important. Pseudocrenilabrus philander (n=40) was collected during July 2013 (winter) and January 2014 (summer) with the aid of an electroshocker and handnets from Nwanedi River. They were transported to the laboratory where they were sacrified by severing the spinal cord. The fish were examined with the aid of a stereomicroscope. Recovered monogeneans were fixed and mounted in glycerine ammonium picrate (GAP) solution. The structures were studied and drawn with the aid of an Olympus microscope. Two monogenean species were recorded: Enterogyrus sp. in the stomach and Cichlidogyrus spp. on the gills. The morphological features of the dorsal and ventral bar, the copulatory complex, the ucinuli as well as the average body lenght were used to identify the genera. A prevalence of 85% was recorded for Cichlidogyrus spp. and 38% for Enterogyrus sp. The former parasites represent a new distribution record for P. philander in Nwanedi River, South Africa. |
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