First Record and Range extension of Clavellisa ilishae Pillai, 1962 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoidea, Lernaeopodidae) Parasitizing Nematolosa nasus (Bloch) (Clupeiformes: Dorosomatidae) from Khor Al-Zubair Lagoon, Southern Iraq: First Record and Range extension of Clavellisa ilishae Pillai, 1962 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoidea, Lernaeopodidae) Parasitizing Nematolosa nasus (Bloch) (Clupeiformes: Dorosomatidae) from Khor Al-Zubair Lagoon, Southern Iraq

Thamir Katea Adday; Atheer Hussain ali

Authors

Thamir Katea Adday Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah
Atheer Hussain Ali Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah

Keywords:

Arabian Gulf, Gill rakers, Marine fish, Parasitic Copepod.

Abstract

Bloch's gizzard shad Nematalosa nasus (Bloch) is a member of the dorosomatid fish which, is considered a typical host of a lernaeopodid copepod, however, no parasitological investigation on this host with respect to this group of parasite has been conducted in the Arabian Gulf. A survey of gill’s parasite is carried out in June 2026 revealed that two of the 33 examined fish were infected with a copepod attached to the gill rakers. This copepod belongs to Clavellisa ilishae Pillai, 1962. Illustrations of the parasite are provided and compared with previous records from other geographical regions. This represent the first record of C. ilishae from the Arabian Gulf and extends its known geographical distribution from Arabian Sea to the northwestern Arabian Gulf.

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