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First report of Gussevia asota (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae), destructive parasite of Astronotus ocellatus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in Europe

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Abstract

During epizootological monitoring of local pet-shops and aquarium fish breeders, 45 juvenile fish of Astronotus ocellatus Agassiz, 1831 were examined in March 2013 and October 2014. Fish were imported from a Singapore farm. We found massive infection by Gussevia asota Kritsky, Thatcher & Boeger, 1989 with 100% prevalence and high mean intensities 246 and 265 parasites. Fish displayed visible asphyxia, neurological symptoms, uncoordinated locomotion and sudden death. High 98% mortality of imported juveniles suggests reduced capacity to tolerate hypoxia among oscar juveniles. This is the first report of infection by G. asota in A. ocellatus juveniles in commercial shop from Slovak Republic, in Europe.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support was provided by the Agency of Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic, the project ITMS 26220120041 and VEGA projects No. 1/0916/14 and 1/0847/13.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Breeding and Diseases of Game and Fish, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Komenského 73, 041 81, Košice, Slovakia

    Ľubomír Šmiga, Lenka Košuthová, Peter Košuth & Peter Lazar

  2. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Human and Natural Sciences, University of Prešov, 17. November 15, 080 01, Prešov, Slovakia

    Ján Koščo

  3. Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravska cesta 9, 845 23, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Ladislav Pekárik

  4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Priemyselná 4, P.O. Box 9, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia

    Ladislav Pekárik

  5. Institute of Meat hygiene and Technology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Komenského 73, 041 81, Košice, Slovakia

    Adriána Fečkaninová

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  1. Ľubomír Šmiga
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  2. Lenka Košuthová
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Šmiga, Ľ., Košuthová, L., Koščo, J. et al. First report of Gussevia asota (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae), destructive parasite of Astronotus ocellatus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in Europe. Biologia 71, 547–550 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1515/biolog-2016-0070

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