Ultrastructure of the tegument of the cestode Paraechinophallus japonicus (Bothriocephalidea: Echinophallidae), a parasite of the bathypelagic fish Psenopsis anomala |
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Authors: | Cé line Levron,Larisa G. Poddubnaya,Roman Kuchta,Mark Freeman,Yan-Hai Wang, Tomá Scholz |
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Affiliation: | Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, ČeskéBudějovice, Czech Republic; Institute of Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Russia; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, ČeskéBudějovice, Czech Republic; Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK; Parasitology Research Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Fujian, China |
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Abstract: | Abstract. The ultrastructure of the tegument in Paraechinophallus japonicus (Bothriocephalidea: Echinophallidae), a cestode parasite of the bathypelagic fish Psenopsis anomala , was studied using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Paraechinophallus japonicus lacks a true scolex. Four different types of microtriches have been observed on the tegumental surface of P. japonicus. Capilliform (∼2.3-μm long) and blade-like spiniform (∼1.4-μm long) microtriches are intermingled on the surface of the pseudoscolex. Capilliform microtriches are distinct in possessing a short base and a long electron-lucent cap. The strobila is covered with two types of microtriches, namely filiform (∼2.1-μm long) and tusk-shaped microtriches (≤4.5-μm long). Tusk-shaped microtriches are limited to the posterior border of each proglottid and are characterized by a short and narrow base, and a large and wide, sharply pointed, electron-dense cap. Similar tusk-shaped microtriches were previously found in members of the family Echinophallidae and may represent an autapomorphy of echinophallid cestodes, all of them being parasitic in centrolophid fish. A unified terminology of microthrix parts is proposed. |
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Keywords: | microtriches unified terminology TEM SEM Bothriocephalidea |
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