Occurrence and intensity of parasites in Wels catfish, Silurus glanis L. 1758 from Amirkelayeh wetland, southwest of the Caspian Sea.

Amirkelayeh international wetland with a surface area of 1,230 hectares and fifteen fish species is an important water resource in the southern part of the Caspian Sea. There is few reports on fish parasites of this area. In the present study, a total of 80 Wels catfish, Silurus glanis, were collected from April through July 2011. After recording biometric characteristics, common necropsy and parasitology methods were used. In the present study, a total of 441 individuals of seven parasite species consisting of one nematode: Raphidascaroides sp., one cestode: Triaenophorus crassus, two digenean trematodes: Aphanurus stossichi and Diplostomum spathaceum, two monogenean trematodes: Silurodiscoides vistulensis and Silurodiscoides siluri, and one crustacean: copepodid stage of Lernaea cyprinacea was found in the catfish. The occurrence of copepodid stage of L. cyprinacea, Raphidascaroides sp. and T. crassus are reported for the first time from S. glanis in Iran.