Abstract
Little is known of the mechanisms whereby trematode parasites of fish gills attach themselves to their hosts. The adhesive apparatus consists of a posterior set of suckers or clamps supported by skeletal bars (sclerites) whose arrangement varies considerably in the different species. Yet though the pattern of these sclerites forms the main basis for the classification of the 200 or so species of the Diclidophoroidea into its six families, the only attempts to describe the mechanism of attachment of these parasites to their hosts appear to be those of Cerfontaine (1896), who described the attachment ofDiclidophora denticulatato the gills ofGadus viretis, and of Sproston (1945a) and Llewellyn (1956a), both of whom described the attachment ofKuhnia scombrito the gills ofScomber scombrus. In the present paper the mechanism by whichPlectanocotyle gurnardi(v. Ben. & Hesse) adheres to its hostsTrigla cuculusL., andT. lineataGmelin will be described.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
