Marteilia sp. and other parasites and pathological conditions in Solen marginatus populations along the Galician coast (NW Spain).

This paper reports the results of the survey developed after the first detection of protozoan Marteilia sp. infection of the grooved razor shell Solen marginatus (Pulteney, 1799) from Galicia (NW Spain) in 2006. Furthermore, we analysed other parasites and pathological conditions found in grooved razor shell populations throughout this survey, such as metacercariae of trematodes, prokaryotic infections and disseminated neoplasms, some of which could cause moderate or severe damage to the host depending on the intensity of infection. A total of 17 natural beds distributed along the Galician coast were analysed, and Marteilia sp. was detected in 6 of them with low prevalence, moderate intensity and no negative effects over the populations.