Helminths and the stomach contentment of Bathyraja sp. (Rajiformes: Arhynchobatidae) in the Simushir Island area (Pacific Ocean)

The offspring of skate Bathyraja sp., caught in the environs of the Simushir Island (Greater Kuril Chain), were studied for infections and stomach contentment. Three species of cestodes: Onchobothrium sp., Pseudanthobothrium purtoni, and Phyllobothrium georgiense were found. Eight taxa of invertebrates were found in the stomach: seven amphipods Acanthostepheia behringiensis, Ampelisca eschrichtii, Eusirus cuspidatus, Gammaridea fam. gen. sp., Lysianassidae gen. sp., Oedicerotidae gen. sp., Stenothoidae gen. sp., and one isopod Arcturus crenulatus. The explosive increase in the number of cestodes infecting Bathyraja sp., has been caused by a change in the food spectrum, characterized by the appearance of bony fish. It is the first time that these three species of cestodes have been recorded in the Bathyraja (inhabiting the Northwestern Pacific). The obtained data expands knowledge on the feeding of skates, the fauna of cestodes of the North Pacific Ocean, and their final hosts, as well as coastal communities of the middle Kuril Islands that are poorly studied.