Checklists of Cestodes of Freshwater and Marine Fishes of Basrah Province, Iraq

Abstract

Reviewing the literature on all the cestodes parasitizing freshwater and marine fishes of Basrah province, Iraq indicated the presence of 30 cestode taxa. Eleven species of such cestodes were recorded from freshwater localities, 18 from marine localities and one species from marine, brackish and fresh waters. All these cestodes belong to the subclass Eucestoda. The total number of cestode species recorded for each fish host species fluctuated from a minimum of one cestode species in 15 fish hosts to a maximum of five cestode species in Silurus triostegus only. Number of fish hosts reported for these cestodes fluctuated from one host in case of 17 species to a maximum of nine hosts in case of Bothriocephalus acheilognathi.