Endoparasitic helminths of fishes in three alpine lakes in France and Switzerland

Abstract

A systematic survey of endoparasitic helminths of 9 species of fishes from three Alpine lakes, Annecy, Bourget (both France) and Geneva Lake (Switzerland and France), is presented. Eleven species of intestinal helminths (2 Digenea, 7 Cestoda, 1 Nematoda and 1 Acanthocephala) were found in 272 of 372 (i.e. 73%) fish species examined. The dominant parasites were pseudophyllidean tapeworms Eubothrium crassum (Bloch, 1779) and E. salvelini (Schrank, 1790) in lake trout (Salmo trutta m. lacustris) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) respectively, and the proteocephalidean Proteocephalus longicollis (Zeder, 1800) in whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus).