New occurrence of Cirolana capricornica (Isopoda: Cirolanidae) from Epinephelus chlorostigma in Suez Governorate, Egypt

Research (Published online: 20-01-2024)

17. New occurrence of Cirolana capricornica (Isopoda: Cirolanidae) from Epinephelus chlorostigma in Suez Governorate, Egypt

Mohamad Abdulmohsen, Heba I. Abdel-Mawla, Maather M. El-Lamie, Marwa S. Kamel, Sherief M. Abdel-Raheem, Waleed Rizk El-Ghareeb, Ahmed. M. A. Meligy, and Eman M. Abouelhassan

Veterinary World, 17(1): 150-155

Mohamad Abdulmohsen: Department of Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia; Suez Canal University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Behavior and Management, Ismailia, Egypt.

Heba I. Abdel-Mawla: Department of Fish Diseases, Animal Health Research Institute, Ismailia Branch, Agriculture Research Center, Ismailia, Egypt.

Maather M. El-Lamie: Department of Fish Diseases and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.

Marwa S. Kamel: Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.

Sherief M. Abdel-Raheem: Department of Animal Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt.

Waleed Rizk El-Ghareeb: Food Control Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt.

Ahmed. M. A. Meligy: Department of Clinical Science, Central Lab, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, Hofuf, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.

Eman M. Abouelhassan: Department of Physiology, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt.

Background and Aim: The isopods of the Crustacea are noteworthy. All marine, fresh, and brackish waterways at all depths are home to aquatic organisms. This order also includes species that live on land. This study aimed to report a new occurrence of the isopod Cirolana capricornica on the operculum, mouth, and body cavities of Epinephilus chlorostigma in the Suez Governorate, Egypt.

Materials and Methods: With the help of fishermen, 50 live E. chlorostigma (Linnaeus, 1758) were randomly gathered along the Red Sea coast of the Suez Governorate during November and December 2019 for the current investigation. Isopods were isolated from the fish samples and captured using light and electron microscopy for morphological identification.

Results: Some fish were emaciated, and minute white isopods were attached externally to the skin near the gills and mouth cavity, and internally to the mouth cavity. No correlation was observed between body cavity attachment and gross lesions. The prevalence of infestation was 16%.

Conclusion: C. capricornica was identified using optical and electron microscopy to analyze the isopod specimens’ morphology. This scavenging isopod species is newly discovered in Egypt.