A comparison of scolex morphology between the plerocercoid and the adult of Calliobothrium verticillatum (Tetraphyllidea: Onchobothriidae)

The morphological changes associated with the ontogenetic transformation of the scolex from larva to adult were investigated in the tapeworm Calliobothrium verticillatum (Rudolphi, 1819) van Beneden, 1850 by comparing the morphology of plerocercoids collected from the hermit crab Pagurus pollicaris Say, 1817 with that of adult worms collected from the shark Mustelus canis (Mitchell, 1815), using scanning electron microscopy. The apex of the scolex in young plerocercoids bore a conspicuous sucker. Each bothridium was flat and divided into four regions: an anterior oval region with two marginal bumps, and three posterior loculi clearly marked by two costae. The microthrix pattern was not determined for very young plerocercoids. The most conspicuous feature of older plerocercoids was the sucker on the apex of the scolex. The bothridia were concave, and each bore an apical region subdivided into three shallow suckers and three conspicuous loculi. Densely packed blade-like microtriches intermingled with filifo...