Diverstiy of Onchoproteocephalidea and Phyllobothridea (Platyhelminthes: Cestoda) in elasmobranches from the Gulf of Oman

During the course of study 324 specimens of elasmobranches belong to six families, seven genus and ten species were collected from the Gulf of Oman. These include 299 rays and 25 sharks species. The host were dissected and investigated for the Onchoproteocephalid and Phyllobothrid tapeworms. Identified tapeworms from the spiral intestine of elasmobranches belong to five genus including Acanthobothrium, Anthobothrium, Paraorygmatobothrium, Uncibilocularis and Phoreiobothrium. This is the first record of Anthobothrium and Uncibilocularis from the Gulf of Oman.In the present study variation of the mean intensity, mean abundance and prevalence of parasites were compared according to host species. Ecological diversity indices including species richness, Shanon – Wienner diversity, equitability and dominance indices are discussed. Sorrenson quality and quantity indices were also used to compare parasitic infection of different hosts.