The morphological peculiarities of the acanthocephalan Corynosoma strumosum (Rudolphi, 1802) (Polymorphidae) in paratenic hosts, the eelpout Zoarces elongatus (Kner, 1868) (Zoarcidae) and the halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis (Schmidt, 1904) (Pleuronectidae)

Abstract

We examined the structure of the tegument surface of the acanthocephalan Corynosoma strumosum and its surrounding capsule in paratenic hosts: the notched-fin eelpout Zoarces elongatus (Kner, 1868) and the Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis (Schmidt, 1904). In both cases, the capsules are “leucocytic” and have, in general, a similar structure but with a few peculiarities. Some of them are evidently caused by the different ages of capsules and others may be connected with the species of the host. The tegument surface of C. strumosum from eelpout is covered with a thick layer of glycocalyx, which is absent in acanthocephalans from halibut. The results suggest that the acanthocephalan C. strumosum is more adapted to the eelpout Z. elongatus and to the sculpin Myoxocephalus stelleri than to flatfish.