Abstract

Objective: To study the occurrence, description and prevalence of the Philometra sp. infestation in ovaries of Pseudorhombus triocellatus from two different landing centers in Tamil Nadu of southeast coast of India for a period of two years from January 2012 to December 2014. Methods: The samples were collected from Parangipettai and Nagapattinam in the southeast coast of India. The prevalence and mean intensity of nematode infection and description were investigated. Results: Based on light microscopical examination, this species differs from other Philometra spp. in morphological and biometrical measurements by type of the infected fish family and by the ecological distribution. The maximum prevalence (71.7%) of parasitic infestation was observed during summer 2014 in Parangipettai. The higher mean intensity was recorded during post-monsoon 2013 in Nagapattinam. The results of the ANOVA showed that there was no significant variation found prevalence and mean intensity of parasitic infestations between the stations. But there was a significant variation found between the season in the both the station. Conclusions: This is the first report of Philometra sp. in the ovary of Pseudorhombus triocellatus. On the basis of nematode infestation may cause serious damage to ovary by slurping the blood, causing atrophy of developing ova, fibrosis, increasing granulocytes and hemorrhages, thus harmfully affect the fish reproduction and indirectly affect the fisher men communities.

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