Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) introducing an alien parasite, Camallanus cotti (Nematoda: Camallanidae) to Africa, the first report.

Abstract

Introduced alien fish species and their associated parasites may result in a serious threat to indigenous biodiversity. Furthermore, this may have negative impacts on cultured fish as well as on native parasitic fauna. In the present study, the invasive Asian nematode, Camallanus cotti Fujita, 1927 (Nematoda: Camallanidae), is reported from the guppy (Poecilia reticulata) for the first time in Africa. This parasite is assumed to be introduced into Africa along with the introduction of exotic poeciliid fishes, which are known to be the most common hosts of C. cotti in ornamental fish industry worldwide.The presence of this parasite in both aquarium-cultured fish as well as fish from natural waterbodies is evidence of the introduction of the alien organisms due to insufficient prophylactic veterinary control during transfer of non-native hosts between countries and the spread of them by the anthropogenic introduction to natural systems.