Parasitism of dolfinfhishes, Coryphaena hippurus and Coryphaena equiselis, in the western Mediterranean (Balearic Islands) and central-eastern Atlantic (Canary Islands)

A total of 648 dolphinfishes were examined for internal and external parasites in western Mediterranean (Balearic Islands) and central-eastern Atlantic (Canary Islands) waters in order to make a comparative study between the two areas. The specimens studied from the Mediterranean Sea was Coryphaena hippurus, with 62 large individuals captured from May to September and 497 juveniles captured from August to December. The specimens studied from the central-eastern Atlantic were 39 adult C. hippurus and 49 adult Coryphaena equiselis. Parasites were found in 70% of the fish examined, and represented a total of nine endoparasitic taxa: six digeneans (Class Trematoda, Subclass Digenea; Dinurus tor…