The Journal of Zoology Studies Vol. 2 No. 6 2015 Journalofzoology.com Page 32 The Journal of Zoology Studies 2015; 2(6): 32-37 ISSN 2348-5914 JOZS 2015; 2(6): 32-37 JOZS © 2015 Received: 16-09-2015 Accepted: 25-02-2016 Shafaquat Nabi Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. Syed Tanveer Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. Shazia Ahad Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. Showket Ahmed Ganaie Cilinical Biochemistry, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. Uzma Niyaz Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India Iram Abdullah Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India Corresponding Author: Shafaquat Nabi Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. Acanthocephalan infestation in fishes –A review Author: Shafaquat Nabi, Syed Tanveer, Showket Ahmed Ganaie, Shazia Ahad, Uzma Niyaz, Iram Abdullah Abstract It has been estimated that Fisheries sector contributes to animal protein supply 63%, GDP 5.24% and foreign exchange earning 4.76% for the nation. For sustainable aquaculture production, it is therefore important to give proper attention to this essential area. Fish not only act as a host for different parasites but also serve as carrier of many larval parasitic forms that cause serious pathological disturbances in many vertebrates including man. Among different parasites, helminthes are the important parasites that cause a great threat for fish health management and aquatic crop production throughout the world. These helminth parasites of fishes cause decrease in growth rate, weight loss and emaciation, affect yield of fish products (liver oil etc), spread human and animal diseases, postpone sexual maturity of fish and cause mortalities in fish. Acanthocephalan is an important group of helminthes which infects and causes diseases in both freshwater and marine fishes. Keeping all this in view there is a need to explore the field to a high level so that fish could be used as a model in fisheries. Keywords: Parasite, Acanthocephala, Helminth, Animal diseases, Larval parasitic 1. Introduction Fish not only serve the function of food but also contributes a lot to meet the basic nutritional requirements and also plays a vital role in fulfilling the deficiencies of vitamins, proteins and minerals besides driving away the diet related diseases. Since fishes are utilized by the humans, it is thus important that they should be healthy and free of any kind of infection. Infections in fish are caused by viruses, bacteria and other parasites. Among different parasites, Helminth group is one of the major group of fish parasites which causes a severe loss in the fish production (Jha et al. [14] ; Sobecka and Salmoniska [32] ). About 20,000 to 30,000 helminth species have been reported worldwide which cause heavy losses to the fish industry (Kime [19] ). Dhar [9] reported 31 species of helminth parasites from Kashmir Valley which leads to severe damage to the fish production and population. Helminthes constitute of three major groups, the Platyhelminthes (flat worms that constitutes trematodes and cestodes), Nematoda (round worms) and Acanthocephala (spiny headed worms) that complete their life cycles through intermediate hosts like piscivorous birds (Schmidt [30] ). 2. Acanthocephala: a diverse group Acanthocephala is an important but a minor group of parasites that shows characteristics similar to that of rotifers. Adult members of this group are present and mostly feed on the intestinal walls of fresh and marine water fishes all over the world (Meyer [22] ).