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

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

Authors

Thorsten Walter

Harry Wilhelm Palm

Sandra Piepiorka



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. https://doi.org/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