An alien parasite affects local fauna—Confirmation of Sinergasilus major (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) switching hosts and infecting native Silurus glanis (Actinopterygii: Siluridae) in Hungary

Dos Santos, Quinton Marco and Avenant-Oldewage, Annemarie and Piasecki, Wojciech and Molnár, Kálmán and Sellyei, Boglárka and Székely, Csaba (2021) An alien parasite affects local fauna—Confirmation of Sinergasilus major (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) switching hosts and infecting native Silurus glanis (Actinopterygii: Siluridae) in Hungary. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY – PARASITES AND WILDLIFE, 15. pp. 127-131. ISSN 2213-2244

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Abstract

In 2016, an intense copepod infection was recorded from a reservoir in proximity to the Danube River in Hungary from visibly emaciated wels catfish, Silurus glanis. The parasite-induced pathology was described but parasite identity was not conclusive. Additional sample collections in 2017 and 2018 allowed for identification using both light and scanning electron microscopy, alongside genetic characterisation. The copepods were confirmed to be ergasilids, Sinergasilus major, distinctly different from any previous infection on silurids in Europe. This is the first record of this parasite from Hungary and the first host record from wels catfish.

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