Cymothoa indica (Isopoda; Cymothoidae) and Alitropus typus (Isopoda; Aegidae) on freshwater fish Tilapia mossambica (Cichlidae) in Vellar estuary, Southeast coast of India

Abstract

The study was carried out to establish the extent of double parasitation of two species of isopods Cymothoa indica and Alitropus typus on Tilapia mossambica. Cymothoa indica, a typical Indo-Pacific genus, and A. typus, a common crustacean parasite of fish in Southeast Asia, which feeds by sucking blood species, are reported by the first time in the freshwater fish Tilapia from Vellar estuary.

Keywords

• isopod parasite
• new host records
• Tilapia mossambica
• Vellar estuary