Parasite Fauna of the Dusky Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus, Lowe 1834) from the Central Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate parasite fauna of E. marginatus from the central Mediterranean Sea between Messina and Syracuse. In the present survey; parasite fauna of dusky grouper was investigated for two main reasons: the economic value of this species and the current lack of studies regarding the capture area. Seventy dusky groupers were caught from May 2018 to February 2020. Forty-seven out of the 70 specimens (67.2%) were infected with one or more parasite species. The most abundant species was Prosorhynchus caudovatus (42.9%), followed by Podocotyle temensis (28.6%), Didymodiclinus sp. (18.6%), Philometra jordanoi (5.7%), Anisakis Type II larvae (5.7%). Higher prevalence of infection of P. jordanoi and Contracaecum sp. was found in warm months (March to September), while P. caudovatus and P. temensis were mostly found during cold months. Weight and total length of E. marginatus were positively correlated with the parasitic load of P. jordanoi and Didymodiclinus sp. The different prevalence of parasite infection found between warm and cold months is probably related to the diet of the dusky grouper; which is characterized by mollusks that are intermediate hosts for parasite species found. None of the parasites found in the present survey is responsible for zoonosis

Morphological and molecular study of Didymodiclinus marginati n. sp. (Trematoda: Didymozoidae) gill parasite of Epinephelus marginatus from the central and western Mediterranean Sea

“…Thus, the same parasitological lesions were observed on E. marginatus from several localities of the western Mediterranean Sea (Panebianco et al, 1995;Azzurro et al, 2002;Polinas et al, 2018). Recently, De Benedetto et al (2021) found the infection also in fish from central Mediterranean Sea and ascribed it to Didymodiclinus sp.…”

“…Recently, De Benedetto et al . (2021) found the infection also in fish from central Mediterranean Sea and ascribed it to Didymodiclinus sp.…”

New occurrence of Cirolana capricornica (Isopoda: Cirolanidae) from Epinephelus chlorostigma in Suez Governorate, Egypt

“…On the coast of Libya, dusky groupers have been reported to exhibit skin lesions and dermatitis, which are most likely caused by parasites. In the Adriatic Sea, trematodes firmly attached to the gills, pseudobranchs, and orobranchial chambers of dusky groupers have also been reported by De Benedetto et al [16].…”

Long-Term Phellodendri Cortex Supplementation in the Tiger Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus): Dual Effects on Intestinal Health Revealed by Transcriptome Analysis

“…The tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) is widely farmed in the subtropical sea areas of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean [1]. However, the increase in the prevalence of diseases associated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites has hampered the development of grouper culture, resulting in mass economic losses in the industry [2][3][4][5]. The current therapeutic agents for the above-mentioned diseases are mainly antibiotics and chemical agents.…”