Abstract
The anatomy and behaviour of the oncomiracidia ofKuhnia scombri, K. sprostonaeandGrubea cochlear, related mazocraeid monogeneans from the gill chamber of the mackerel,Scomber scombrus, caught off Plymouth are compared.K. sprostonaeandG. cochlearare new records at Plymouth. The most important anatomical difference between these larvae is that those ofKuhniaspp. possess a pair of pigment-shielded eyes which are lacking in G.cochlear. The freshly hatched larvae ofKuhniaspp. are strongly photopositive but this response wanes after about 1 h inK. scombriand 1–5 h inK. sprostonae. No response to light was detected in larvae of G.cochlear. Most older larvae ofKuhniaspp. and of G.cochlearswim continuously upwards and downwards, even in ‘darkness’, indicating an alternation between positive and negative geotropism. The larvae ofKuhniaspp. possess angular cells (?) of unknown function close to the pharynx. The larvae of all three species contain prominent anterior glands and lipid droplets; the latter are depleted during their long free-swimming lives (up to 36 h inKuhniaspp. at 13–14°C).
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