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Morphological re-description and new geographical records for three digenean parasites infecting African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus (Pisces: Clariidae) in Egypt

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Abstract

Sixty specimens of African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae) were collected during the period of March 2014–February 2015 from boat landing sites and fishermen of the River Nile at Beni Suef Governorate, Egypt, and examined for the presence of digenean parasites. The morphology of these parasites was studied by using light microscopy to describe morphological and morphometrically measurements for different body parts. Three digenean species belonging to three different genera were collected from various organs within the examined fish species. A certain degree of site specificity was also observed, with Thaparotrema botswanensis being found only in the gall bladder of C. gariepinus, while both Pseudoholorchis clarii and Glossidium pedatum were found only in the intestine and thus seem to occupy a certain niche within their host. This study represent as the first record of T. botswanensis and G. pedatum from C. gariepinus, as well as the first report of the genera from the River Nile in Egypt. In addition, re-description of P. clarii clarifies measurements for some body parts.

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Acknowledgments

The authors extend their appreciations to members of Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo and Beni Suef Universities, Egypt for providing all facilities to complete this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Rewaida Abdel-Gaber

  2. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt

    Thabet Sakarn, Gamal El-Shahawi, Hoda El-Fayoumi & Rana Mohammed

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  1. Rewaida Abdel-Gaber
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  2. Thabet Sakarn
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  3. Gamal El-Shahawi
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  4. Hoda El-Fayoumi
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Correspondence to Rewaida Abdel-Gaber.

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All procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national guides on the care and use of laboratory animals and have been approved and authorized by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Zoology Department in Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Egypt.

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Abdel-Gaber, R., Sakarn, T., El-Shahawi, G. et al. Morphological re-description and new geographical records for three digenean parasites infecting African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus (Pisces: Clariidae) in Egypt. Parasitol Res 115, 4251–4260 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5203-2

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