Metazoan parasites of deep-sea fishes from the South Eastern Pacific: Exploring the role of ecology and host phylogeny

• First study regarding deep sea fish parasites from the South Eastern Pacific.
• Four Macrouridae (Gadiformes) one Synaphobranchidae (Anguilliformes) species studied.
• Higher diversity found in Macrourus holotrachys (32 species).
• Lower diversity found in Diastobranchus capensis (1 species).
• Ectoparasites showed higher host specificity than endoparasites.

We studied the parasite fauna of five deep-sea fish species (>1000 m depth), Three members of Macrouridae (Macrourus holotrachys, Coryphaenoides ariommus and Coelorhynchus sp.), the Morid Antimora rostrata and the Synaphobranchidae Diaptobranchus capensis caught as by-catch of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) from central and northern Chile at depths between 1000 and 2000 m. The parasite fauna of M. holotrachys was the most diverse, with 32 species (The higher reported for Macrourus spp.) and the lower occur in the basketwork eel D. capensis (one species). Trophically transmitted parasites, mainly Digenea and Nematoda explain 59.1% of the total number of species obtained (44 species) and the 81.1% of the 1020 specimens collected. Similarity analysis based on prevalence as well as a Correspondence analysis shows that higher similitude in parasite fauna occurs in members of Macrouridae. The importance of diet and phylogeny is discussed as forces behind the characteristics of the endoparasite and ectoparasite communities found in the studied fish species.

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