Identification of Chalcalburnus chalcoides internal parasites in Sefidrood River, Guilan, Iran

During this research from April to August 2020, some 30 fish of Chalcalburnus chalcoides were caught from different parts of Sefidrood by cast nets. The fish were anesthetized using 25 mg/l of clove flower extract. In order to identify the parasites, blood, eyes, various internal organs were sampled. All of the isolated parasites were stained and clarified using Hematoxylin and Eosin stain and valid parasitology keys. Examination of internal parts of Chalcalburnus chalcoides revealed varying degrees of infestation by different parasitic species, including fish eyes infection by trematodes Diplostomum spathaceum, (infestation percentage 53.3%). Meanwhile, blood was affected mainly by Trypanosome percae (13.3%), Cryptobia sp. (10%), abdominal cavity by Eustrongylides excisus (20%), Clinostomum complanatum (13.3%), anisakis larvae (23.3%), Asymphylodora kubanicum (46.6%), Caryophylaelus laticeps (13%), Khavaia arminica (76.6%), metacercaria plerocercoid Ligula intestinalis (13.3%), Bothriocephalus gowkongensis (20%), Raphidascaris acus (26%) and Corynosoma caspicum (30%). Almost all of the examined fish were found to have been infested by at least one or two parasite species. The new finding of this research is that isolation and identification of four parasites species namely as zoonosis Clinostomum complanatum, Eustrongylides excisus, Ligula intestinalis and Anisakis larvae are reported in this fish species for the first time.