PARASITES OF SOUTH-AFRICAN FRESH-WATER FISH .6. NEMATODE PARASITES OFSOME FISH SPECIES IN THE KRUGER-NATIONAL-PARK

The nematode parasites of 30 spot-tailed robbers, Brycinus imberi, fiv e tiger-fish, Hydrocynus vittatus, 77 large-scaled yellowfish, Barbus marequensis, two mudsuckers, Labeo molybdinus, 114 catfish, Clarias ga riepinus, 46 silver barbel, Schilbe intermedius, 66 squeakers, Synodon tis zambezensis, three eels, Anguilla spp., 83 Mozambique bream, Oreoc hromis mossambicus, 81 red-breasted bream, Tilapia rendalli swierstrae and 32 large-mouthed bream, Serranochromis meridianus, caught in the Sabie, Crocodile and Olifants Rivers in the southern and central regio ns of the Kruger National Park, were collected, identified and counted . A single Camallanus sp. male was recovered from one of the mudsucker s; Capillaria spp. from three catfish and one squeaker; philometrid ne matodes from two silver barbel, 15 squeakers and a large-mouthed bream ; Paracamallanus cyathopharynx from one tiger-fish, 80 catfish, 28 sil ver barbel and one squeaker; Procamallanus laeviconchus from a single catfish; Rhabdochona esseniae from six large-scaled yellowfish; Rhabdo chona versterae from 14 spot-tailed robbers; Rhabdochona spp. from 20 catfish, 17 silver barbel, eight squeakers, two eels, one large-mouthe d bream and two red-breasted bream; Raillietnema synodontisi from 33 s queakers; Spinitectus petterae from 37 catfish; Spinitectus zambezensi s from 55 squeakers; Spinitectus spp. from one tiger-fish and four sil ver barbel, and Spirocamallanus daleneae and Synodontisia thelastomoid es from 33 and 35 squeakers, respectively. Second- and third-stage Con tracaecum spp. larvae were recovered from 26 spot-tailed robbers, five tiger-fish, one large-scaled yellowfish, 53 catfish and ten silver ba rbel and unidentified nematode larvae from two spot-tailed robbers, 57 large-scaled yellowfish, both mudsuckers, 105 catfish, 45 silver barb el, 58 squeakers, all three the eels, 29 Mozambique bream, 33 red-brea sted bream and 26 large-mouthed bream. Camallanus sp. in mudsuckers, C apillaria spp. in catfish and squeakers, Rhabdochona spp. in eels, cat fish, silver barbel, squeakers, large-mouthed bream and red-breasted b ream, Spinitectus spp. in tiger-fish and silver barbel, Paracamallanus cyathopharynx in silver barbel, tiger-fish and squeakers, Raillietnem a synodontisi and Synodontisia thelastomoides in squeakers, constitute new parasite records for the respective hosts in South Africa. With f ew exceptions, the fishes harboured more nematode larvae than adult ne matodes but no pattern of seasonal abundance of either of the developm ental stages was evident for any of the fish species examined.