Recent examinations of some marine fishes from off the southern coast of Iraq revealed the presence of five species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda: Philometridae): Philometra arabiensis sp. n. (males and females) from the ovary of the shrimp scad Alepes djedaba (Forsskål) (Carangidae, Carangiformes), Philometra psettoditis Moravec, Walter et Yuniar, 2012 (females) from the body cavity of the Indian halibut Psettodes erumei (Bloch et Schneider) (Psettodidae, Pleuronectiformes), Philometra terapontis Moravec, Gopalakrishnan, Rajkumar, Saravanakumar et Kaliyamoorthy, 2011 (female) from the ovary of the jarbua terapon Terapon jarbua (Forsskål) (Terapontidae, Centrarchiformes), Philometra sp. (females) from the ovary of the Arabian blackspot threadfin Polydactylus mullani (Hora) (Polynemidae, Carangariformes) and Philometra sp. 2 of Moravec et al. (2016a) (females) from the ovary and body cavity of the bartail flathead Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus) (Platycephalidae, Perciformes). Philometra arabiensis sp. n. is mainly characterised by the length of spicules (198-243 µm) and gubernaculum (75-99 µm), the gubernaculum/spicule length ratio (1 : 2.33-2.79), the structure of the gubernaculum distal portion and the male caudal end, and the body length of males (1.86-2.73 mm). The present findings of P. psettoditis and P. terapontis in fishes of the Arabian Gulf represent new geographical records for these parasites.

• Keywords
• Arabian Gulf., Dracunculoidea, Parasitic nematodes, hosts, taxonomy,
• MeSH
• Dracunculoidea * MeSH
• Crustacea MeSH
• Microscopy, Electron, Scanning MeSH
• Fish Diseases * epidemiology   parasitology   MeSH
• Ovary parasitology   MeSH
• Perciformes * parasitology   MeSH
• Fishes parasitology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Iraq epidemiology   MeSH

Recent examinations of some marine fishes from off the southern coast of Iraq revealed the presence of two species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda: Philometridae): P. parabrevicollis n. sp. (males and subgravid and nongravid females) from the ovary of the bigeye snapper Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch (Perciformes, Lutjanidae) and Philometra sp. (subgravid females) from the ovary of the bartail flathead Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus) (Perciformes, Platycephalidae). Specimens of species are described and illustrated based on light and scanning electron microscopical examinations. Philometra parabrevicollis n. sp. is mainly characterised by the length of spicules (267-285 µm) and gubernaculum (159-168 µm), the gubernaculum/spicule length ratio (1:1.64-1.76), the structure of the gubernaculum distal tip and of the male caudal end, and the body length of males (4.03-4.90 mm). The description of this new species again confirms a high degree of host specificity of gonad-infecting species of Philometra in congeneric lutjanid hosts. Although Philometra sp. parasitising P. indicus in Iraqi waters was previously recorded, its subgravid females are described for the first time. A key to gonad-infecting species of Philometra parasitic in fishes of the family Lutjanidae is provided.

• MeSH
• Dracunculoidea anatomy & histology   classification   MeSH
• Species Specificity MeSH
• Host Specificity MeSH
• Fishes parasitology   MeSH
• Aquatic Organisms classification   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Iraq MeSH