History of fish parasitology in Africa

Abstract

The rivers and lakes of Africa contain almost 25% of the world’s 13,000 freshwater fish species and are second only to South America in species richness. These fish are parasitised by a wide range of organisms that can be detrimental to both farmed and wild fishes with consequent effects on economic development, and often on human health. Knowledge of these parasites in African freshwater fishes is limited and this book is intended to promote and advance understanding of African fish parasites by providing information on the best techniques for investigating fish and their parasites and keys to parasite identification. The first comprehensive list of all known freshwater fish parasites in Africa is presented here, with information on their known hosts and distribution, keys to all genera and representative illustrations for every genus. This information should facilitate and stimulate the development of fish parasitology on the African continent which has great potential for aquaculture and fishery development.