TITLE:
Metazoan Parasites of Clariid Fishes, Lake Victoria: Reflection of the Original Fauna in the Lake?
AUTHORS:
Chacha J. Mwita
KEYWORDS:
Metazoan Parasites, Clariid Fishes, Lake Victoria, Tanzania
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Science,
Vol.6 No.9,
May
27,
2014
ABSTRACT: A total of 32
parasite species were documented from 658 clariid fishes examined. Thirteen
species were nematodes, eleven digeneans, three cestodes, two crustaceans, and
the Monogenea, Acanthocephala and Hirudinea were each represented by one
species. Of the parasites recovered 16 were identified to species level, 12 to
genus and 4 parasites were not identified. Most of the parasites recorded in
the present study have been reported in fish ofTanzaniaand elsewhere, however,
there were a few first records, and these included Neogoezia sp., Comephoronema sp., Travnema sp., Quimperia sp. and Gendria tilapiae.
It is stipulated that these parasites represent the original fauna of the lake
prior to introduction of the alien species. The clariid fish species investigated
were a good model for studying the parasites of fish in the lake because of
having a variety of parasites some of which being specific to certain clariid
fishes, for instance Diplostomum and Tylodelphys species
infecting only C. gariepinus and the camallanids being typical of the
clariid fishes.