A new species of Philometra reported from the ovaries of edible fish Epinephelus ‎bleekeri (Vaillant, 1878) of the Karachi coast

Abstract

Nutritionally, fish meat is identified as healthiest meat all over the world. Nutriments that ‎are essential for healthy diet can be easily drive from fishes. Beside fish meat there are ‎various type of derivatives that we can obtain from them. Economically fish industry is ‎considered as backbone for any country. Approximately, 45,000 species of helminth ‎parasites cause pathogenicity in vertebrate hosts that are known to man. Parasite that ‎belong to family Philometridae usually invade different body organs and cavities of ‎various fishes. Parasite that cause pathogenicity in reproductive organs of fish ultimately ‎cause disturbance in their release of reproductive hormones, mating behavior, difficulty ‎in spawning and ultimately number of fry production is declined.‎ This research was conducted on the nematode parasites of marine fish Epinephelus ‎bleekeri (Vaillant 1878) from Karachi coast during January,2021 to December,2021. In ‎this one year research, a new species of nematode Philometra bleekerii n.sp. was ‎recorded from the reproductive organs of marine fish Epinephelus bleekeri (Vaillant ‎‎1878).‎