A survey on gastrointestinal helminths of Euryglossa orientalis in Bandar Abbas coast

So far, very limited research has been done on Euryglossa orientalis parasites in our country. In the present study, helminthic infection of 50 digestive tracts of E. orientalis, were examined in Bandar Abbas in 2016. After procuring the fishes, they were transferred to the laboratory and different parts of their bodies were measured for a morphometric study. Then whole digestive tract of the fishes was removed, opened with a small scissor into a dish and the contents was searched for the presence of helminth. Then, the isolated helminth parasites were fixed in 5% formalin or 70% ethanol and stained with azocarmine. The parasites were identified with the aid of reliable sources. The results indicated that out of 50 fish tested, only 5 fish (10%) were infected with the parasite. Thus, in 10% of the fish, Plagiocirrus primus and in 2% of them, Lepocreadioides zebrini and Scolex pleuronectis were identified. This result shows that the infection of Euryglossa orientalis with helminths is mild in the coasts of Bandar Abbas in summer. P. primus is reported for the first time from Persian Gulf coasts.