BIHAREAN BIOLOGIST 13 (1): 42-43 ©Biharean Biologist, Oradea, Romania, 2019 Article No.: e182202 http://biozoojournals.ro/bihbiol/index.html
A new record of Pontobdella muricata (Annelida: Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) from Iskenderun Bay, northeastern Mediterranean Turkey
Alper YANAR1, Argun Akif ÖZAK2, Nuri BAŞUSTA3*
1. Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, Iskenderun Technical University, Hatay,Turkey. 2. Department of Aquaculture & Fish Diseases, Faculty of Fisheries, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey. 3. Faculty of Fisheries, Firat University, TR-23119, Elazig, Turkey. *Corresponding author, N. Başusta, E-mail: [email protected]
Received: 30. January 2018 / Accepted: 04. May 2018 / Available online: 12. May 2018 / Printed: June 2019
Abstract. The aim of this study is to report a new record of marine leech, Pontobdella muricata (Linnaeus, 1758) from Iskenderun Bay, northeastern Mediterranean. Fish samples were collected during a trawl fishing conducted at a depth ranging from 150 to 300 m in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. Fish samples, infected with marine leech, was transferred to the ecophysiology laboratory in Fisheries Faculty of the Firat University. One infected fish was photographed and the parasite was removed from the host and fixed in ethanol for further morphological examinations and measurements. The parasite was identified as Pontobdella muricata. Dipturus oxyrinchus constitutes new host for Pontobdella muricata which is one of the most common species of leeches found on skates and rays.
Key words: Hirudinea, Pontobdella muricata, Dipturus oxyrinchus, parasite, Mediterranean.
Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) existing in freshwater, estua- rine and marine ecosystems are mainly feed on fishes as parasites (Yamauchi et al. 2008). They cause severe damages (local hemorrhages, tissue necrosis etc.) directly or indirectly as they may cause secondary infections to their hosts (Bur- reson 1995, Sağlam et al. 2003, Bakopoulos & Ksida 2013). Thus far, five marine leech species have been reported from sea fishes existing in Turkish coastal waters. Among these, Pontobdella muricata is the most commonly known and reported species of leeches. It has been reported from differ- ent fish hosts caught in the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean (Çınar et al. 2014, Bulguroğlu et al. 2014, Başusta et al. 2016).
In this study, a single specimen of the marine leech, P. muricata was recovered from the dorsal surface of a Long- Figure 1. Sampling area, Iskenderun Bay, Turkey, northeastern nosed skate, Dipturus oxyrinchus (Linnaeus, 1758) caught in Mediterranean. the eastern Mediterranean waters, near Iskenderun Bay, Turkey during a commercial trawl-net fishing operated on February 2016 in Iskenderun Bay (between 36°17´107N 35°20´632E and 36°08´819N 035°09´555E) (Fig. 1). Leech sample penetrated to dorsal surface of the fish were removed, fixed immediately in 10 % formalin and then transferred to 70 % ethanol for preservation. It was depos- ited in the Parasitology Museum of Çukurova University in Adana, Turkey (CUPM-HIR/2015 - 002). Length, width and diameters of the oral and the caudal suckers of the leech was measured and identification was performed according to Llewellyn (1966), Sawyer (1986), Bulguroğlu et al. (2014). The host Dipturus oxyrinchus caught at a depth between 150 to 300 m, was 41.5 cm in total length and 248 g in weight
(Fig. 2). The color of P. muricata was dark green, but after Figure 2. Pontobdella muricata with its host, Dipturus oxyrinchus fixation the color was turned to pale yellow. The length and width of the parasite were measured as 104 mm and 30 mm respectively (Fig. 3). The diameters of the oral and the caudal sucker were 2.8 mm and 5.7 mm respectively. The anterior sucker was wider than the trachelosome. True eyes do not exist. There were 12 urosomal tubercles on a1, 8 tubercles on a2, 10 tubercles on b5 and 14 small tubercles on b6. Annula- tion of the leech was as follow; uniannulate somites: none; biannulate somites: XI, XII, XXV, XXVI, XXVII; triannulate somites: VII–X; quadriannulate somites: XII–XXIV. Some Figure 3. Pontobdella muricata
A new record of Pontobdella muricata from Iskenderun Bay, northeastern Mediterranean Turkey 43
Table 1. Host list of Pontobdella muricata
Location Family Host Reference Aegean Sea Dasyatidae Dasyatis pastinaca L. Bakopoulos & Ksidia (2014) Mediterranean Sea Dasyatidae Dasyatis pastinaca L. Başusta et al. (2016) Mediterranean Sea Rajidae Dipturus oxyrinchus L. Present Study Aegean Sea Rajidae Raja clavata L. Sağlam et al. (2003); Bakopoulos & Ksidia (2014) Black Sea Rajidae Raja clavata L. Öktener & Utevsky (2010) Mediterranean Sea Rajidae Raja clavata L. Bulguroglu et al. (2015) Thyrrhenian Sea Rajidae Raja miraletus L. Bottari et al. (2017) Thyrrhenian Sea Rajidae Raja montagui (Fowler) Bottari et al. (2017) Marmara Sea Rajidae Raja spp. Ergüven & Candan (1992) Mediterranean Sea Rajidae Raja spp. Ben Ahmed et al. (2015) Aegean Sea Torpenidae Torpedo marmorata Risso Sağlam et al. (2003)
other diagnostic characters in accordance with previous de- Ben Ahmed, R., Gammoudi, M., Khaled, I., Tekaya, S., Mansour, L., Alwasel, S., scriptions of Llewellyn (1966), Sawyer (1986), Bulguroğlu et Harrath, A.H. (2015): Annotations on marine and freshwater leeches (Annelida, Clitellata, Hirudinea) from North Africa. Tropical Zoology 28: al. (2014), Bottari et al. (2017) are as follows: (1) muscular 71–93. jaws absent; (2) salivary papillae absent; (3) friction rays on Bottari, T., Profeta, A., Rinelli, P., Gaglio, G., La Spada, G., Smedile, F., caudal sucker absent; (4) number of annuli with eye spots Giordano, D. (2017): On the presence of Pontobdella muricata (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) on some elasmobranchs of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Central one; (5) eyespots per annulus one pair; (6) Mid-body neph- Mediterranean). Acta Adriatica 58(2): 225–234. ropores located ventro-laterally. The host list of P. muricata is Bulguroğlu, S., Korun, J., Gökoğlu, M. (2015): New information on distribution presented in Table 1. of a marine leech, Pontobdella muricata (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Check List 11: 1588. To our knowledge, presently reported elasmobranch Burreson, E.M. (1995): Phylum Annelida: Hirudinea as vectors and disease host, Long-nosed skate, D. oxyrinchus (Linnaeus, 1758), con- agent. pp. 599–629. In: Woo, P.T.K., (eds.), Fish Diseases and Disorders, Vol stitutes new host record for P. muricata and this is the first I. Protozoan and Metazoan Infections, CAB International. Çınar, M. E., Dağlı, E., Şahin, G. K. (2014): Checklist of Annelida from the coasts report of this parasite from the eastern Mediterranean wa- of Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology 38(6): 734–764. ters off the Turkish coast. Ergüven, H., Candan, A. (1992): A parasitic Hirudinea (Pontobdella muricata Linnaeus) at Raja sp. Marmara Sea. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2: 1–4. Llewellyn, L. C. (1966): Pontobdellinae (Piscicolidae: Hirudinea) in the British Museum (Natural History) with a review of the subfamily. Bulletin of the Acknowledgement. This work was partially supported by Scientific British Museum (Natural History) 14: 391–439. Research Projects Coordination Unit of Fırat University. Project Öktener, A., Utevsky, S.Y. (2010): New Information on the Hosts and Number SUF.15.04. Distribution of the Marine Fish Leeches Trachelobdella lubrica and Pontobdella muricata (Clitellata, Hirudinida). Vestnik Zoologii 44: 33–36. Sağlam, N., Oguz, M.C., Çelik, E.S., Doyuk, S.A., Usta, A. (2003): Pontobdella muricata and Trachelobdella lubrica (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) on some marine References fish in the Dardanelles, Turkey. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 83: 1315–1316. Bakopoulos, V., Ksidia, V.C. (2014): Pontobdella muricata infection of Raja clavata Sawyer R.T. (1986): Leech biology and behavior. volume II. Clarendon, Oxford. and Dasyatis pastinaca off the coast of Lesvos, Greece. Journal of the Marine Yamauchi, T., Ota, Y., Nagasawa, K. (2008): Stibarobdella macrothela (Annelida, Biological Association of the United Kingdom 94: 405–409. Hirudinida, Piscicolidae) from elasmobranchs in Japanese waters, with new Başusta, N., De Meo, I., Miglietta, C., Mutlu, E., Olguner, M.T., Şahin, A., host records. The Biogeography 10: 53–57. Balaban, C., Deval, M.C., Yurtseven, U.U., Patania, A. (2016): Some marine leeches and first record of Branchellion torpedinis Savigny, 1822 (Annelida, Hirudinea, Piscicolidae) from elasmobranchs in Turkish waters, with new host records. Marine Biodiversity 46(3): 713–716.