Observations on the occurrence of Spraguea lophii in Mediterranean lophiids

In the Mediterranean Sea, anglerfish Lophius budegassa and Lophius piscatorius support an important fishery, and landings have increased in recent years. These species are infected by the microsporean Spraguea lophii, a parasite that infects their nervous system giving rise to multiple cysts. Due to the high value of these fish and conspicuous nature of the infection, we determined the apparent prevalence of this parasite in both Lophius spp. Specimens were obtained from commercial catches along the NW Mediterranean Sea during 2013. The parasite was observed in the nerves from the peripheral nervous system of the individuals and was detected at the prevalence of 69.2% (202/292) and 100% (58/58) in L. budegassa and L. piscatorius, respectively. Non-significant differences were noted between sexes of L. budegassa (χ(2) = 0.683; p = 0.409), although a positive correlation was noted between host size and prevalence (χ(2) = 6.134; p = 0.013). During the sampling, two specimens of L. budegassa with atypical morphological characteristics, pigment anomalies and blindness and infected with S. lophii xenomas were described.