Parasite Fauna of the Dusky Grouper ( Lowe 1834) from the Central Mediterranean Sea.

This study aimed to investigate parasite fauna of from the central Mediterranean Sea between Messina and Syracuse. In the present survey; parasite fauna of dusky grouper was investigated for two main reasons: the economic value of this species and the current lack of studies regarding the capture area. Seventy dusky groupers were caught from May 2018 to February 2020.

First record of infestation by nasal leeches, Limnatis nilotica (Hirudinida, Praobdellidae), from cattle in Italy.

In July 2017, twenty cattle of a free-grazing herd were found to be infested with leeches in the mouth. Main signs were bloody sialorrhea and/or a purple-red colour of the lower lip. Leeches, in a variable number (1 to 3) per animal, were found at the lingual frenulum or on the sublingual vestibular mucosa and were morphologically identified as Limnatis nilotica.