Severe glomerular disease in juvenile grey snapper Lutjanus griseus L. in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the myxozoan Sphaerospora motemarini n. sp.

In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida, grey snapper, Lutjanus griseus was found to be infected with the myxozoan parasite Sphaerospora motemarini n. sp., with high prevalence (83%) and intensity of infection occuring in age-0 fish, and with parasite levels decreasing with age (age-1 snapper 40%; age-2 snapper 0%).