NOUN
- any of various worms living parasitically in intestines of vertebrates having a retractile proboscis covered with many hooked spines
How To Use acanthocephalan In A Sentence
- However, among helminth parasites, e.g., trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, and acanthocephalans, this is not the case.
- Maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood inferred trees differ significantly with regard to relationships among acanthocephalans and rotifers.
- Unlike the situation in nematodes and platyhelminths, substantial evidence supports a close phylogenetic affinity of acanthocephalans to the predominately free-living rotifers.
- For example, in some morphologically based studies the issue is whether the lemnisci and proboscis of acanthocephalans are homologous to the hypodermic cushions and apical rostrum of bdelloids.
- Guidance and encouragement for my research involving acanthocephalans has been provided by Steven A. Nadler.
- The inferred phylogenetic relationships between acanthocephalans and rotifers differ appreciably.
- This constraint may limit acanthocephalan lineages to particular arthropod hosts, whereas the use of particular vertebrate hosts may be more free to vary.
- Many sea otters died from being infected by a parasitic acanthocephalan worm found in sand crabs the sea otters ate when other more natural prey was scarce.
- In addition to the thorny proboscis, acanthocephalans are distinguished morphologically as cylindrical and unsegmented worms.
- Alewives caught off the Atlantic coast were found to host the following parasites: acanthocephalans, cestode, trematodes, copepods, and nematodes.