Occurrence of Lernaea cyprinacea (Crustacea: Copepoda) in an endemic cyprinid fish, Chondrostoma orientale Bianco & Banarescu, 1982 from the Kor River Basin, southwestern Iran

Occurrence of Lernaea parasite in a narrow distributed endemic fish, Chondrostoma orientale (Oriental nase) restricted to the Kor river basin, Southwestern Iran is reported. Based on the obtained results, all three collected specimens (TL= 174-192mm, SL= 148-169mm) were infested with Lernaea parasites which were attached to the base of dorsal, pectoral, caudal and pelvic fins and also body muscles. The prevalence and intensity of parasite was 100% and 10.3, respectively. Due to effects of Lernaea, a long term monitoring of the parasites and fishes in the Kor River basin is highly recommended.