NEW FINDINGS OF PARASITE FAUNA OF OHRID MORANEC (PACHYCHILON PICTUM HECKEL & KNER, 1858) (TELEOSTEI: CYPRINIDAE) FROM LAKE OHRID, MACEDONIA

Lake Ohrid is the oldest lake in Europe. The lake is inhabited by 17 autochthonous species, of which 10 species (60%) are endemic. Within the parasitological examinations of the fishes from the Macedonian part of the Lake Ohrid were comprised 226 specimens of the endemic fish species Ohrid moranec (Pachychilon pictum Heckel & Kner, 1858) of which 117 specimens (51.77%) were infected. In our case study the presence of 7 parasite species was evident: Dactylogyrus caballeroi, Plagioporus stefanskii, Cystidicoloides tenuissima, Contracaecum microcephalum (larva), Metechinorhynchus salmonis, Pomphorhynchus laevis and Pomphorhynchus bosniacus. Separately, by parasite species, the highest prevalence is with Dactylogyrus caballeroi (44.69%), and the lowest prevalence is with Plagioporus stefanskii (0.44%). Plagioporus stefanskii is mentioned in our study for the first time in the ichthyoparasitofauna of Lake Ohrid and Macedonia. The parasites of the Ohrid moranec is mostly freshwater forms, with one element that is common to both marine and fresh waters (Metechinorhynchus salmonis). One aspect of the parasites found, is their wide area of distribution and wide spectrum of hosts, such as: Cystidicoloides tenuissima, Contracaecum microcephalum (larva), and Metechinorhynchus salmonis. But, Pomphorhynchus bosnicus is stenoparasite or at the border of stenoparasitism, because it is confined within the Balkan Peninsula, especially on its western part.