The trichodinid fauna of three gobiid species, the monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814), the tubenose goby Proterorhinus marmoratus (Pallas, 1814) and the marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso, 1810) collected from the Lower Kizilirmak Delta in Samsun, Turkey were investigated during December 2010-November 2011. Three trichodinid species including Trichodina domerguei Wallengren, 1897, Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 and Paratrichodina corlissi Lom et Haldar, 1977 were identified on 222 gobiid fish specimens. The existence of trichodinid parasites in relation to the body parts of three gobiid species as well as their seasonal occurrences were determined and discussed. This paper is the first report on the trichodinid fauna on the monkey goby, the tubenose goby and the marbled goby in Turkey. Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 and Paratrichodina corlissi Lom et Haldar, 1977 are new records for Turkish fish parasite fauna, while T. heterodentata is a new parasite record for Neogobius fluviatilis, Proterorhinus marmoratus and Pomatoschistus marmoratus.

This study was supported financialy by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) with the project number of 110O424. I thank to Prof. Dr. Ahmet OZER, Sinop University, Fisheries and Aquaculture Faculty, Turkey, for his comments on the text.

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) [110O424]