<i>Pleistophora mirandellae</i> Vaney &amp; Conte, 1901, a microsporidian parasite in cyprinid fish of rivers in Herault: taxonomy and histopathology

Abstract

Abstract. Cyprinid fish from the Lergue and Lez rivers in Herault, southern France, were found to be parasitized by the microsporidian Pleistophora mirandellae Vaney &amp; Conte, 1901. The parasite was found only in the gonads, forming cysts in the connective tissue between the seminiferous tubules of testes or occurring in the oocytes of the ovaries. Two types of uninuclear spores are produced. The synonomy of microsporidia parasitizing the gonads of cyprinid fish is discussed.