Lamproglena hoi n. sp. (Copepoda: Lernaeidae) from two yellowfish hosts, Barbus marequensis and Barbus polylepis, caught in a river in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Lamproglena hoi n. sp. was collected from the gill filaments of largescale yellowfish, Barbus marequensis A. Smith, 1841 and smallscale yellowfish, Barbus polylepis Boulenger, 1907 from the Spekboom River, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The genus Lamproglena is characterized. Morphological features of L. hoi are described and illustrated by means of drawings and scanning electron micrographs. This species is also compared with congener species described from other Barbus spp.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.University of the North.mn201

Echinococcus felidis in hippopotamus, South Africa

Hydatid cysts of Echinococcus felidis are described from the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) from Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Among six hippopotami investigated, hepatic hydatids were found in three. The identification was based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. In addition, the rostellar hook morphology was analysed. This is the first morphological description of the metacestode of E. felidis, and the first molecularly confirmed report of the intermediate host of E. felidis in South Africa. The definitive host of E. felidis in South Africa is the lion (Panthera leo).Peer reviewe

Are catfish from metal-polluted impoundments in the Olifants River, South Africa, safe for human consumption?

Many impoverished rural communities rely on fish from inland waters for dietary protein; however, inland waters are becoming increasingly contaminated due to anthropogenic activities. The Olifants River is one of the most polluted river in South Africa. The upper catchment is characterized by acid mine drainage and elevated levels of contaminants from domestic, agricultural, industrial, and mining effluents. A human health risk assessment was conducted to determine whether 2 catfish species from 2 impoundments in the Olifants River were safe for human consumption. The concentrations of metal in the fish muscle were in most cases higher at Lake Flag Boshielo than at the downstream Phalaborwa Barrage. Consumption of catfish from Lake Flag Boshielo on a weekly basis could result in adverse health impacts from antimony, chromium, cobalt, and lead. For the Phalaborwa Barrage, only lead would be likely to pose a health risk for consumption of catfish at weekly frequency

Dactylogyrus spp. (Dactylogyridae, Monogenea) from tinfoil barb, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii imported into South Africa: morphometric and molecular characterisation

This study reports on three species of Dactylogyrus Diesing, 1850 (Dactylogyridae) collected from tinfoil barb, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (Bleeker) which were imported into South Africa as ornamental fish from Sri Lanka and Thailand. Supplementary morphometric characterisation and molecular data (partial 18S and 28S rDNA, and ITS1 region sequences) are presented for Dactylogyrus lampam (Lim & Furtado, 1986), Dactylogyrus tapienensis Chinabut & Lim, 1993 and Dactylogyrus viticulus Chinabut & Lim, 1993. Prevalence of Dactylogyrus spp. infection was 87% and 80% for fish from Sri Lanka and Thailand, respectively. Composition of the parasites between the fish of each origin differed. All three species were found to infect fish from Thailand, but only D. lampam was present on the fish received from Sri Lanka. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the position of studied species, with D. lampam clustering within the lineages of varicorhini-type species, while D. tapienensis and D. viticulus form a sister lineage to Dactylogyrus spp. associated with Cyprinus carpio L. and Carassius spp., species parasitising central African large cyprinids (Labeo Cuvier), and species parasitising African and Middle Eastern Carasobarbus spp

Histopathology of the liver and gills of Labeo rosae (rednose Labeo) from Loskop Dam in South Africa

The Loskop Dam is the most polluted impoundment in the Olifants River, because it receives pollutants from the entire mine-dominated upper catchment. However, histopathology of fish inhabiting this polluted dam is scantly explored. The current study aimed to investigate the  histopathology of the gills and liver of Labeo rosae from Loskop Dam. Alkaline pH was observed throughout the study with most metal  concentrations exceeding the water quality guideline for aquatic ecosystems. Regressive changes were the most prominent lesions for both organswith gills showing relatively more pathologies than the liver. Epithelial lifting was 100% prevalent during both seasons in the gills whereas a significant expansion of lipofuscin-laden melanomacrophages (MMCs) showed 100% prevalence in the liver. Gills were significantly different in their prevalence of histopathology between the two seasons, which was not the case for liver. The histopathology recorded in this study shows that the health of L. rosae at Loskop Dam was compromised. Given the exacerbating pollution level in the upper Olifants River, these findings serve as a warning to conservation authorities and emphasise the necessity for regular monitoring of fish health at Loskop Dam to assess pollution levels using fish health as a sensitive indicator to altering pollution levels. Keywords: acid mine drainage, epithelial lifting, fish health, Olifants River, water pollutio

Pentastomid parasites in fish in the Olifants and Incomati river systems, South Africa

During parasitological field surveys of freshwater fish, sebekiid and subtriquetrid pentastome larvae were recovered from the body cavity or swim bladder of several fish species from various localities in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, South Africa. Sebekia wedli was recovered from the body cavity of Marcusenius macrolepidotus (Mormyridae) from Flag Boshielo Dam, Limpopo Province, and Alofia sp. and Subtriquetra rileyi were found in the swim bladder of Oreochromis mossambicus (Cichlidae) from the Phalaborwa Barrage, Limpopo Province. The latter species was also collected from the swim bladder of O. mossambicus in dams in the Phalaborwa region and the Ga-Selati River, Limpopo Province. A single specimen of Sebekia okavangoensis was present in the body cavity of Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae) in a dam on a sugarcane farm in the Komatipoort region, Mpumalanga Province. Pentastomid infections in the Mormyridae and Clariidae represent new host records

The acanthocephalan fauna of Iran, a check list

Amin, Omar M., Luus-Powell, Wilmien J., Halajian, Ali (2015): The acanthocephalan fauna of Iran, a check list. Zootaxa 4033 (2): 237-258, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4033.2.

Histopathology of the liver and gills of Labeo rosae (rednose Labeo) from Loskop Dam in South Africa

The Loskop Dam is the most polluted impoundment in the Olifants River, because it receives pollutants from the entire mine-dominated upper catchment. However, histopathology of fish inhabiting this polluted dam is scantly explored. The current study aimed to investigate the histopathology of the gills and liver of Labeo rosae from Loskop Dam. Alkaline pH was observed throughout the study with most metal concentrations exceeding the water quality guideline for aquatic ecosystems. Regressive changes were the most prominent lesions for both organs with gills showing relatively more pathologies than the liver. Epithelial lifting was 100% prevalent during both seasons in the gills whereas a significant expansion of lipofuscin-laden melanomacrophages (MMCs) showed 100% prevalence in the liver. Gills were significantly different in their prevalence of histopathology between the two seasons, which was not the case for liver. The histopathology recorded in this study shows that the health of L. rosae at Loskop Dam was compromised. Given the exacerbating pollution level in the upper Olifants River, these findings serve as a warning to conservation authorities and emphasise the necessity for regular monitoring of fish health at Loskop Dam to assess pollution levels using fish health as a sensitive indicator to altering pollution levels.The South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, the National Research Foundation of South Africa, the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR-UOS) and Division for Research Administration and Development, University of Limpopo.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tafz20hj2021Paraclinical Science