NEW RECORDS OF SOME DIGENETIC TREMATODES IN SOME MARINE FISHES FROM IRAQ

A parasitological investigation of diagenetic trematodes in three fish species from Iraqi marine territorial waters was conducted from December 2021 to December 2022. The study identified five trematode species belonging to the families Hemiuridae, Acanthocolpidae, and Opecoelidae. Lecithocladium angustiovum Yamaguti, 1953, found in the intestines of the black pomfret Parastromateus niger (Bloch, 1795) (Hemiuridae). Three species of acanthocolpid trematodes, Monostephanostomum loossi (Pandey & Tewari, 1984), Stephanostomum ditrematis (Yamaguti, 1939), and Stephanostomum sp., were recorded in the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili (Risso, 1810) Additionally, Pseudopecoeloides tenuis Yamaguti, 1940 (Opecoelidae) was recorded in the purple-spotted bigeyes Priacanthus tayenus Richardson, 1810. Except for L. angustiovum, all of these parasites were recorded for the first time in Iraq and the Arabian Gulf.