RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Despite a lot of fish in the examination, four leech specimens and only one specimen’s lernaeopodid copepod were found from the Murat River. Both parasites were found at Summer time.

In present study, we focused on the lernaeopodid copepod T. polycolpus (Von Nordmann 1832) and P. geometra L. 1761 an ectoparasite on the fins of C. umbla (cyprinid fish).

T. polycolpus carried by two long second maxillae united only at their distal end, is characterized by a short manubrium with a disk shaped anchor with attaches itself to fin ray (Benkirane et al., 1999).

The copepod (T. polycolpus) that recoded in our study was adult female, it is anchored to host fins and feeds on the epithelial cells and mucus of the host, characteristically raising blisters on the fin surface.

The present report is the first diagnosis of C. umbla in Turkey. However, there were some records about these two parasites on various freshwater fishes but ours is the first record on C. umbla in Murat River.

Parasite diagnostic
T. polycolpus (von nordmann 1832): T. polycolpus is differentiated by examination of both the cephalothoraxes and trunk which are elongate and tubular (Fryer, 1982). The specimens was sexually mature female with 5.29-0.21 mm total body length and was attached to the host with a wide, disk shaped bulla. Egg was scattered the body surface (Fig. 1).

Piscicola geometra (L, 1761): The body structure is cylindrical and long and contains two pairs of suction cups to the anterior eye. Posterior suction cups are connected to the body as external-based. The radial pigment lines are as an alternative to the points of eye. The lateral vesicles are 11 pairs, narrow, open, longitudinal bands extending from the middle of the ventral surface transverse and cut by open metameric bands. Star- shaped pigments cells are usually seen. All four anulliden rings were present. Parasite length 23 mm, the width was measured as 3.5 mm Fig. 2.

During the study Fish Samples collected along the Murat River, only infested fish were found at spring and summer time. The copepod showed an aggregated dispersion pattern on host fins. The results showed significantly preferred microhabitats, with adult females being more abundant on the anal pelvic fins than the other fins. In particular, Loot et al. (2004) found that it was more abundant on the anal and pelvic fins than the other. T. polycolpus were never found on caudal and dorsal fins and were relatively scarce on the body surface of fish. These fin alterations may reduce the fish's swimming ability and therefore affect the rostrum dace population (Loot et al., 2004). The anal fins were damaged by the T. polycolpus with a loss of their surface area Fig. 3. For this reason, bacteria, fungi and other parasitic agents can easily attack and settle down and especially the ecologies and biologies, seasonal distributions and their effects on fish of these two parasites can be studied in subsequent studies.

CONCLUSION

Even though P. Geometra records have been presented in previous studies in some fish species of Cyprinidae which is of Turkey’s freshwater fish (Cyprinus carpio, Capoeta trutta, Rutilus rutilu,s Barbus rajanorum mystaceus, Blicca bjoerkna, Esox lucius, Tinca tinca, Abramis brama, Scardinius erythrophthalmus), it is seen that those remain limited. P. geometra record is found only in C. trutta of Capoeta fish. T. polycolpus record is found in Capoeta trutta only by Saglam (1992) master thesis titled Ecto Parasites of Some Cyprinid Fish in Keban Dam Lake and there is not other record apart from this. Therefore, that both two parasites will be the first record both for C. umbla and Murat River is seen important.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author is very grateful to Prof. Dr. Naim SAGLAM from Department of Aquaculture and Fish Diseases, Faculty of Fisheries Elazýg-Turkey for his verification for of P. geometra and T. polycolpus.