Family UDONELLIDAE Taschenberg, 1879

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Introduction

Udonellids have a chequered systematic past. The type species of Udonella, U. caligorum Johnston, 1835 was initially thought to be a leech. Ivanov and Mamkaev (1973) proposed that Udonella be placed in the order Udonellida of the neoophoran Turbellaria and this was accepted by Beverley-Burton (1984). However, ultrastructural evidence led Xylander (1988) and Rohde et al. (1989) to conclude that Udonella should be included in the infrasuperclass Neodermata. Rohde (1990) and Xylander (1992) noted that the flame cells ofUdonella resembled those of the cestodes (Aken'Ova & Lester 1996). Udonellids have neither a ciliated larva nor hooks at any point in their life cycle.

Typically, species of Udonellidae attach themselves by cement secreted from the haptor to the carapace of ectoparasitic copepods of marine fishes. Udonellids are characterised by a cup-shaped, muscular haptor, single testes and lobed anterior end bearing one attachment organ on each side. Udonella species lay and attach their eggs to the surface of their copepod 'host' (Byrnes 1986).

General References

Aken'Ova, T.O. & Lester, R.J.G. 1996. Udonella myliobati n. comb. (Platyhelminthes: Udonellidae) and its occurrence in eastern Australia. Journal of Parasitology 82(6): 1017-1023

Beverley-Burton, M. 1984. Monogenea and Turbellaria. pp. 5-209 in Margolis, L. & Kabata, Z. (eds). Guide to the parasites of fishes of Canada. Part I. Canadian special publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 74

Byrnes, T. 1986. Five species of Monogenea from Australian bream, Acanthopagrus spp. Australian Journal of Zoology 34: 65-86

Ivanov, A.V. & Mamkaev, V. 1973. [Ciliary worms (Turbellaria), their origin and evolution; phylogenetic outline. Izdat. "Nauka," Leningrad (In Russian.)]. p. 222 in Margolis, L. & Kabata, Z. (eds). Guide to the Parasites of Fishes of Canada. Part I. Canadian special publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 74: 209

Johnston, G. 1835. Illustrations in British Zoology. Magazine of Natural History 8(53): 494-498

Rohde, K. 1990. Phylogeny of Platyhelminthes, with special reference to parasitic groups. International Journal for Parasitology 20: 979-1007

Rohde, K. Watson, N, & Roubal, F. 1989. Ultrastructure of flame-bulbs, sense receptors, tegument and sperm of Udonella (Platyhelminthes) and the phylogenetic position of the genus. Zoologischer Anzeiger 222: 143-157

Xylander, W.E.R. 1988. Ultrastructural studies on Udonellidae: Evidence for a position within the Neodermata. Fortschritte der Zoologie 36: 51-57

Xylander, W.E.R. 1992. Investigations on the protonephridial system of post-larval Gyrocotyle urna and Amphilina foliaceae (Cestoda). International Journal for Parasitology 22: 287-300

Yamaguti, S. 1963. Systema Helminthum. Volume IV. Monogenea and Aspidocotylea. New York : Interscience Div., John Wiley & Sons Inc. 699 pp.

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