Occurrence of Myxosporidia of the Genus Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 in the Gills and Intestines of Mugilidae Species from Lake Nokoue (Republic of Benin) and Lagos Lagoon (Nigeria)

Abstract

The mullets (Mugiliformes: Mugilidae) have a worldwide distribution and inhabit tropical and temperate waters. Parasitic diseases of fish are very common all over the world. The mullet parasites studies about myxosporeans infecting worldwide mullets were considerably widened However, there have been reports of myxosporidea in different fish species there has not been much work done about Myxobolus spp in mullet, hence the study of myxosporea represents an important group of parasites infecting worldwide mullets. This study aims to examine the prevalence of Myxosporidia (Myxobolusmyxosporeangills and intestines of two Mugilidae (Mugil Cephalus and Liza Falcipinnis) from Lake Nokoue (Republic of Benin) and Lagos Lagoon (Nigeria). Three stations were selected for study within each area. Specimens of the two species of fish Mugil cephalus MC and Liza falcipinnis LF were collected from the Lagos lagoon (Nigeria) and Lake Nokoue lagoon (Republic of Benin) Fish samples were collected for nine months from June 2019 to February 2020 and examined for myxosporidean parasite, both in the dry and the rainy seasons. Data were analyzed using Chi-squared or Fisher’s Exact test. The results obtained show Myxosporidia (myxobolus sp) infestations of gills and intestines in both species of the Mugilidae studied. The results revealed that the season and sex didn’t impact the degree of LF and MC infestation by Myxobolus sp in Lake Nokoue and Lagos lagoon and Lake Nokoue and Lagos lagoon.