Community of macroparasites of the Pacific barracuda Sphyraena ensis Jordan and Gilbert, 1882 (Perciformes, Sphyraenidae) from the north coast of Peru

Abstract

This study aimed to report the community of macroparasites of the Pacific barracuda Sphyraena ensis Jordan and Gilbert, 1882 (Perciformes, Sphyraenidae) from the north coast of Peru. From September to October 2019, 138 specimens of S. ensis were acquired from Caleta de Zorritos, Contralmirante Villar Province, Tumbes, on the north coast of Peru. The community of parasites found consisted of nine species of parasites including monogeneans, copepods, trematodes and nematodes. The total body length of the fish was negatively correlated with the mean intensity of infestation of Pseudochauhanea sp. The mean abundance of Pseudochauhanea sp. also showed a marked significant difference between the populations of male and female fish, being more associated with males. We provide a list of macroparasites recorded in fish of the genus Sphyraena in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Checklist dataset published through GBIF (Doi: 10.15470/5htffh)