Epizoic amoebae from the gills of turbot Scophthalmus maximus

Species of amoebae belonging to the genera Platyamoeba Page, 1969, Vannella Bovee, 1965 and Flabellula Schaeffer, 1926 were found to accompany Paramoe ba sp., the agent of amoebic gill disease (AGD), in clinically diseased tur bots. The same community of epizoic gymnamoebae was found on the gills of t urbots which revealed no gill abnormalities but slight behavioral signs ind icative of suboptimal health status. The assemblage of the above-mentioned free-living amoebae capable of colonizing gill tissue of turbots was supple mented with species recognized in samples fixed from primary isolates for t ransmission electron microscopy. The pathogenic potential of epizoic gill a moebae in turbots is discussed.