MYXOBOLUS-NODULOINTESTINALIS SP-N (MYXOSPOREA, MYXOBOLIDAE), A PARASITE OF THE INTESTINE OF BARBUS-SHARPEYI

A new myxosporean, Myxobolus nodulointestinalis sp. n., has been found in the intestinal walls of 2 Mesopotamian fishes, Barbus sharpeyi (Gu nther, 1874) and B. luteus (Heckel, 1843), in rivers of southwest Iran . Large cysts about 5 mm in diameter containing mature spores were loc ated in the muscular layer separating the intestinal serosa from the m ucosa. The cysts were branched and separated by septa. They bulged dee p into the lumen of the gut and the abdominal cavity. Plasmodia showed an affinity to smooth muscle cells and were covered by a degenerated layer of muscular elements. The spores, which had an elongated oval or trapezoid shape, differed in size and morphology from the known Myxob olus species of other barbels.