Order GYROCOTYLIDEA Poche, 1926

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Introduction

The Gyrocotyloidea is a primitive group of monozoic cestodes found in the spiral valves of holocephalan fishes (Gibson 1994; Rohde 1994). There is a relatively undifferentiated attachment organ at the anterior extremity. The male genital opening is ventro-medial and occurs just posterior to the attachment organ. The female genital opening occurs at the same level as the male opening but is lateral to it and opens on the dorsal surface. The ovary is in the posterior part of the body. The uterus runs anteriorly from the ovary, dilating to form a uterine sac before emptying through a ventral pore posterior to the male pore. The vitelline follicles are scattered in two lateral bands. The eggs are operculate and release a 10-hooked larva when they hatch. The life cycle is not known (Gibson 1994). The phylogenetic relationships with the true cestodes or eucestodes have been reviewed recently by Hoberg et al. (2001).

General References

Gibson, D.I. 1994. Order Gyrocotylidea Poche, 1926. pp. 11-13 in Khalil, L.F., Jones, A. & Bray, R.A. (eds). Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates. Wallingford, UK : Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux International 751 pp.

Hoberg, E.P., Mariaux, J. & Brooks, D.R. 2001. Phylogeny among orders of the Eucestoda (Cercomeromorphae): integrating morphology, molecules and total evidence. pp. 112-126 in Littlewood, D.J.T. & Bray, R.A. (eds). Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes. London, UK : The Systematics Association, Taylor & Francis 356 pp.

Rohde, K. 1994. The minor groups of parasitic platyhelminths. Advances in Parasitology 33: 145-234

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