Occurrence of  Triaenophorus nodulosus  and  T. crassus  Plerocercosis (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) in Fish  Parasilurus triostegus  of Al- Hummar Marsh South of Iraq

Salim A.A. Al-Daraji; Majid Abdul Aziz Bannai; Essa T. Muhammad

Occurrence of Triaenophorus nodulosus and T. crassus Plerocercosis (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) in Fish Parasilurus triostegus of Al- Hummar Marsh South of Iraq

Salim A.A. Al-Daraji

, Majid Abdul Aziz Bannai

, Essa T. Muhammad

Aquaculture and Marine Fisheries, Marine Science Center, Basrah University, Iraq

Author

Correspondence author
International Journal of Marine Science, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 69 doi: 10.5376/ijms.2014.04.0069
Received: 19 Aug., 2014 Accepted: 03 Oct., 2014 Published: 20 Nov., 2014

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Preferred citation for this article:

Salim et al., 2014, Occurrence of Triaenophorus nodulosus and T. crassus Plerocercosis (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) in Fish Parasilurus triostegus of Al- Hummar Marsh South of Iraq, International Journal of Marine Science, Vol.4, No.69 1-3 (doi: 10.5376/ijms.2014.04.0069)

Abstract

During the investigation of Parasilurus triostegus fishes where collecting from Al- Hummar Marsh south of Iraq, during the years 2013. Two different parasite Triaenophorus nodulosus and T. crassus were isolated from theintestinal and muscles of the fish. The results give an indication that is the two type of parasite are consider as new records in Iraq, and the Parasilurus Triostegus as a new host in the world.

Keywords

Triaenophorus nodulosus; T. crassus; Parasilurus triostegus; Freshwater fish parasite; Al- Hummar Marsh; Iraq

Tapeworms of the genus Triaenophorus Rudolphi, 1793 (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) are frequent parasites of common pike (Esox lucius L.), Amur pike (E. reichertii Dybowski) and walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill), (Kuperman 1973, Schmidt 1986, Bray et al. 1994).

Geographical distribution of Triaenophorus crassus is present in the Neartic Region and the Palearctic Region. Specific countries parasite has been found in are: Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and the United States. (Achleitner, et al., 2009). Triaenophorus crassus is a intestine tapeworm, therefore it’s behavior is parasitic, through each step in the life cycle after the eggs hatch, it is eaten and then it uses the host’s resources for development. (Vickova, et al., 2007).

Triaenophorus crassus and T.nodals needs three hosts during its life cycle, eggs are released from the adult into the water, after eggs hatch in 1-2 weeks, a free swimming ciliated coracidium emerges; the coracidium swims for 1-2 days, and needs to be consumed by its next host, a copepod, Once ingested by a copepod the parasite migrates to the hemocoel and develops into a procercoid, the copepod is then eaten by a whitefish and digested, as it is being digested it penetrates the gut wall and enters the fish musculature , here the parasite may migrate for up to several months (Wardle, et al., 1974). During this time the parasite becomes a plercocercoid larva and acquires hooks, when the whitefish is eaten by the definitive host (a pike) the parasite attaches to the intestine where it matures to adulthood ,During the spawning time of the pike, a short period in the spring, adult T. crassus release its scolex from the pike. As the entire animal reaches the water, it releases eggs in littoral areas. (Pulkkinen, et al., 2000).

1 Materials and Methods

Monthly fish samples were collected of Parasilurus Triostegus from Al- Hummar Marsh South of Iraq ,during the years 2013 ,A Total of 30 fish specimens where collected by using electro- net. The fishs were examined microscopically for the presence of cestodes in the body cavity, intestine, and musculature. Cestodes were placed in the physiological saline to which distilled water was gradually added. Initially the worm was relaxed before fixation in A.F.A. solution and specimens were stained in acetiocarmine . All measurements are given in micrometers. The parasites were identified according to (Vickova et. al., 2007 ). And drawing was prepared by camera Lucida.

2 Result and Discussion

As the result of investigation of 30 fish specimens of Parasilurus triostegus where collecting from Al- Hummar Marsh south of Iraq ,during the years 2013. One plerociecoide species of Triaenophorus nodulosus cestode parasite isolated from fish and one plerocercoied species T. crassus parasites were found in the intestinal.

Phylum: Platyhelminthes

Class: Cestoda

Subclass: Eucestoda

Order: Bothriocephalidea

Family: Triaenophoridae Loennberg, 1889

Genus: Triaenophorus

1- Triaenophorus crassus Forel, 1868

Synonyms: Triaenophorus robustus Olsson, 1893

Site of Infection: Intestine

Host: Parasilurus triostegus

2- Triaenophorus nodulosus (Pallas, 1760) Rudolphi, 1819

Synonym: Triaenophorus sp. type nodulosus of Cooper, 1919 (partim)

Site of Infection: intestinal

Host: Parasilurus triostegus

Prevalence: 3.3%

Intensity: 1

All plerocercoids were identified as T. nodulosus and T.crassus based upon the morphological characteristics of the hooks on the scolex (Figure 1, 2). Plerocercoid larvae of Triaenophorus nodulosus were frequently observed in the intestinal, while the T.crassus encapsulated parasite isolated from muscles of fish.

Each plerocercoid is enclosed in a cyst; the cyst is usually yellowish in color, typically spindle-shaped and from 200 mm in length. The worm is a long, coiled, white thread 125-133 mm long.

At one end is a complete scolex formed as in the adult; the strobila is not recognized, plerocercoids are found within a single cyst. T. crassus largest scolex hooks; T. nodulosus: smallest scolex hooks with pronounced median prong large, T. nodulosus is smaller than T. crassus and has much smaller scolex hooks. The presence of a median prong on the scolex hooks is distinctive. The scolex and hooks of this species are shown in Figure 1, 2. Dimensions of the scolex hooks of T. crassus, T. nodulosus width of species basal plate T. crassus 1.25 mm diameter T. nodulosus 1.25~1.50 mm.

Figure 1 A, B micrographs of scoleces with characteristic hooks 10X, A drawing with camera Lucida scale bare 0.5 mm, C micrographs of scoleces with camera Lucida scale bar 0.05 mm, D hooks of T. nodulosus and T. crassus scale bar 0.05 mm

Figure 2 Micrographs of scolex with characteristic hooks 10X, B- micrographs of scolex with drawing camera lucida scale pare 0.5 mm, C- plerociecoid

This genus was revised by Kuperman (1973). It is well characterized by the presence of four large, trident-shaped hooks on the apical disc, an unsegment strobila and a large, thick-walled cirrussac.

Three species of the genus Triaenophorus are known from Canadian fishes: T. crassus Forel, T. nodulosus ( Pallas) and T. stizostedionis Miller. The three are very similar anatomically. Species of Triaenophorus were first recorded from North American fish by Cooper (1918), He recognized T. crassus (which he referred to as T. robustus) from the intestine of Esox lucius and the muscles of Leucichthys artedi and He also found T. nodulosus in several species of fishes.

The type species T. nodulosus (Pallas, 1781) syns. aenia rugosa Pallas, 1760 in part; Taenia piscium Pallas, 1766 in part; Taenia lucii Müller, 1776 in part; Taenia tricuspidatus Bloch, 1779, Kuperman 1973). And T.crassus Forel, 1868 (syn. T. robustus Olson, 1893), Two type of the parasite have been reported from a number of second (fish) intermediate hosts in Europe and Asia, including the former Soviet Union. Triaenophorus nodulosus also occurs in North America are differ markedly from each other in the morphology and size of the hooks and their larvae (plerocercoids) infect different fish hosts (Lawler and Scott 1954, Hoffman 1999).

This is the first recording presence of two species of parasite, and are represented as a new locality recorded of Triaenophorus nodulosus and T. crassus that isolated from the intestinal and musculse of the Parasilurus triostegus, and the Parasilurus Triostegus as a new host in the world.

References

Bray A., Jones A., Andersenk I. (1994).Order Pseudophyllidea Carus, 1863. In: L.F Khalil, A. Jones and R.A. Bray (Eds.), Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 205-247

Pulkkinen, K., A. Pasternak, T. Hasu, E. Valtonen. (2000). Effect of Triaenophorus crassus (Cestoda) infection on behavior and susceptibilty to predation of the first intermediate host Cyclops strennus. The American Society of Parasitologists, 86 (4): 664-670

Kuperman B.I. (1973) .Tapeworms of the Genus Triaenophorus, Parasites of Fish. Experimental Systematics, Ecology. Nauka, Leningrad, 208 pp. (In Russian.) cited by Roman Kuchta et al., 2007

Roman Kuchta ; Romana VlÄková; Larisa G. Poddubnaya ; Andrea Gustinelli and Tomáš Scholz , Ewa Dzika (2007) . Invalidity of three Palaearctic species of Triaenophorus tapeworms (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea): evidence from morphometric analysis of scolex hooks, FOLIA PARASITOLOGICA 54: 34-42
http://dx.doi.org/10.14411/fp.2007.005

Lawler G.H., Scott W.B. (1954) Notes on the geographical distribution and the hosts of the cestode genus Triaenophorus in North America. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 11: 884-893
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f54-049

Vickova, R., L. Poddubnaya, R. Kuchta, A. Gustinell, E. Dzika.( 2007). Invalidity of the three Palaearctic species of Triaenophorus tapeworms (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea): evidence from morphometric analysis of the scolex hooks. Faculty of Biological Sciences, 54 (1): 34-42

Wardle, R., J. McLeod, S. Radinovsky. (1974) Advances in the Zoology of Tapeworms 1950-1970. United Kingdom and India: Oxford University Press, London and Delhi

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