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Atriaster Lebedev et Paruchin, 1969 (Monogenea: Microcotylidae) from Omani waters:
an outlook into species composition and distribution along coasts.
Sara H. Al-Jufailia* , Volodymyr K. Machkevskyia, Evgenija V. Dmitrievab, Nashwa A. M.
Al-Mazrooeia
a
Laboratory of Aquatic Parasitology, Fishery Quality Control Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Wealth, P.O.B.: 427, Muscat: 100, Sultanate of Oman
b
Department of Ecological Parasitology, Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, National Academy of
Sciences of the Ukraine, 2, Nakhimov Ave., 99011 Sevastopol, Ukraine
Abstract
The new genus Atriaster Lebedev et Paruchin, 1969 was erected to accommodate a new
species of microcotylid monogeneans Atriaster heterodus Lebedev et Paruchin, 1969, found
on the gills of Sparid fish Sparus heterodus (Sparidae) near Walvis Bay (South West Africa).
The second species of this genus Atriaster salpa (Parona et Perugia, 1890) Ktari,1969 was
originally described as Microcotyle salpa from Sarpa salpa (Sparidae) from the
Mediterranean Sea. Later (1975) in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman and Yemen
described three species of this genus were described A. spinifer, A. acanthopagri, A.
bifidacanthus from fish family Sparidae (Argyrops spinifer, Acanthopargus bifasciatus,
Sparus sp.) (Mamaev et Paruchin, 1975). Additionally, Microcotyle sargi Parona et Perugia,
1889 (Mamaev et Paruchin, 1975) parasitizing Sargus sargus (Sparidae) in the Mediterranean
Sea was assigned to the same genus. Almost simultaneously, this group joined another
species A. seminalis from the Atlantic Ocean, as a parasite of sparids in French waters (Euzet,
Maillard, 1974). From the obtained information, we can conclude that at present the genus
Atriaster has only 6 species exclusively parasitizing fish belonging to the family Sparidae.
The number of published works on this species of monogeneans is less than ten, which gives
us enough reason to assume that this an under studied group of monogenean parasite and lead
us to further investigate it from Omani waters. As far as we know, comprehensive
parasitological investigations are almost non existing in Oman (Paruchin, 1976, 1989) and
since 16 sparid species are known inhabit Omani waters (Randal, 1995) we present the results
of the species composition and distribution of Atriaster along the coast of Oman from its
Southwest (Salalah ) to the Northeast ( Muzandam) coasts. The parasitological parameters of
the invasion and host specificity of the genus Atriaster monogeneans are presented.