Myxobolus squamaphilus sp. n. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea), a common parasite of the scales of bream (Abramis brama L.)

Myxobolus squamaphilus sp. n. (Myxosporea: Myxozoa) is a common parasite of bream (Abramis brama) in Lake Balaton and the River Danube. Its lentil-shaped, relatively small plasmodia develop in the connective tissue consisting of collagen fibrils on the surface of the cartilaginous plate of scales. Mature plasmodia containing only a few hundred spores can be detected in the fish in April and May. In March primarily the developing stages while in the early summer the traces left by excreted plasmodia can be detected in the scales. In the spring months, the prevalence of infection exceeds 50% while its intensity may reach 7 per scale. By its ellipsoidal, relatively large spores this species is well distinguishable from other species known from the bream and from other cyprinids.