THE METAZOAN ECTOPARASITES AND ENDOPARASITES OF THE RABBITFISH, SIGANUS SUTOR (CUVIER AND VALENCIENNES, 1835) OF THE KENYAN COAST .1.

In a survey of the metazoan ecto- and endoparasites of Siganus sutor ( Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1835), a commercially important herbivorous fis h from the Kenyan coast, sixteen species of parasites are found. The g ill parasites include Monogenea (Tetrancistrum sigani Goto & Kikuchi, 1917; Microcotyle mouwoi Ishii & Sawada, 1938; Pseudohaliotrema sp. 1 and sp. 2, and an unidentified Microcotylidae species); Copepoda (Cali gus sp. and Hatschekia sp.); and Isopoda (one Gnathiidae species). The intestinal parasites found are Digenea (Opisthogonoporoides cf. hanum anthai Madhavi, 1972; Gyliauchen papillatus Goto & Matsudaira, 1918; H exangium sigani Goto & Ozaki, 1929; and three other unidentified digen eans); Acanthocephala (Sclerocollum rubrimavis Schmidt & Paperna, 1978 ); and Nematoda (Procamallanus sigani Yamaguti, 1935). The species lis ted are first records for the Kenyan coast. Infection prevalence, mean intensity and site specificity are determined for the different paras ite species. The parasites have an aggregated frequency distribution i n the host population: some individuals of the siganid population are more heavily infected than expected in a random distribution, while ot hers are very little or not at all infected.