First Record of Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) tripapillatus (Nematoda: Cucullanidae) Parasitic in King Soldier Bream Argyrops spinifer (Pisces: Sparidae) in Arabian Gulf, off Iraq

Abstract

A total of 42 specimens of Argyrops spinifer were caught from Iraqi territorial waters during the period from October 2019 till September 2020. The adult nematodes were isolated from the infected fishes. Morphological features of both males and females of nematodes matched with that of Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) tripapillatus (Gendre, 1927). This nematode is distinguished by the location of nerve ring in relation to the length of oesophagus, as well as the distribution of the ten caudal papillae of males. The record of this species and its subgenus represent its first one in the Arabian Gulf and Iraq.