Parasitic worms of some bony fish species from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea

There are limited reports of fish parasites in the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. In the present study, a total of 306 individuals of 9 fish species, namely Aspius aspius (n = 30), Barbus brachycephalus (n = 10), Barbus capito (n = 30), Rutilus frisii kutum (n = 30), Neogobius fluviatilis (n = 43), N. kessleri (n = 34), N. caspius (n = 33), N. bathybius (n = 67) and N. melanostomus (n = 30), were examined for parasites between March and October 2003. A total of 6998 parasites of 7 species were found in these fish species consisting of 2 trematodes: Asymphylodora tincae and Aspidogaster limacoides, 4 nematodes: Eustrongylides excisus, Dichelyne minutus, Raphidascaris acus and Anisakis sp. and also I acanthocephalan: Corynosoma strumosum. In this study, E. excisus and C. strumosum are reported for the first time from some gobiid species and also D. minutus is reported for the first time from N. caspius and N. melanostomus as new host records.