Parasites of the Antarctic rattail Macrourus whitsoni (Regan, 1913) (Macrouridae, Gadiformes).

Walter, Thorsten; Palm, Harry Wilhelm; Piepiorka, Sandra; Rueckert, Sonja

Abstract

A total of 386 Macrourus whitsoni from Antarctic
waters were examined for ecto- and endoparasites.
Sixty-five M. whitsoni collected near Halley Bay
(Weddell Sea) and 321 specimens from the continental
slope off King George Island (South Shetland Islands)
were studied for sphyriid copepods directly after being
caught. A subsample of 25 specimens from the Weddell
Sea and of 9 specimens from King George Island were
studied for the presence of other metazoan parasites.
Twenty-two species were found, including one myxozoan,
six digeneans, one monogenean, three cestodes,
seven nematodes, one acanthocephalan and three crustacean
species/taxa. While Auerbachia monstrosa and
Capillaria sp. are reported for the first time from around
the Antarctic, the other parasites have been recorded
earlier in the Southern Ocean. Many parasite species
found have a wide zoogeographical range and a low
host-specificity. The parasite fauna of M. whitsoni revealed
several similarities with its congeners M. carinatus
and M. holotrachys from Antarctic and sub-
Antarctic waters. This can be explained by a wide host
range of many macrourid deep-sea parasites, together
with an overlap in distribution patterns of their hosts.
Other supporting factors are host migration and a close
phylogenetic relationship between the hosts, which
enable the parasites to infest all three macrourids. Eight
new host and 14 new locality records are established.

Citation

Walter, T., Palm, H. W., Piepiorka, S., & Rueckert, S. (2002). Parasites of the Antarctic rattail Macrourus whitsoni (Regan, 1913) (Macrouridae, Gadiformes). Polar Biology, 25, 633-640. doi:10.1007/s00300-002-0407-6

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2002-09
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2013
• Print ISSN: 0722-4060
• Electronic ISSN: 1432-2056
• Publisher: BMC
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Pages: 633-640
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-002-0407-6
• Keywords: Parasitism; fish; microbiology; wildlife; Atlantic Ocean
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6418
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-002-0407-6