SEM study of Anisakis brevispiculata Dollfus, 1966 and Pseudoterranova ceticola (Deardoff and Overstreet, 1981) (Nematoda: Anisakidae), parasites of the pygmy sperm whale Kogia breviceps

Abstract

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to study different topo-morphological characteristics of the architecture (cuticle, excretory pore, lips and adjacent structures, number and distribution patterns of caudal papillae and papillae-like structures) of the anisakid nematodes Anisakis brevispiculata and Pseudoterranova ceticola, parasites in the stomach of the pygmy sperm whale Kogia breviceps. SEM micrographs herein help to accurately define the above surface topographical features by adding a more adequate 3-D picture to the original descriptions of both parasitic species. In A. brevispiculata the entire body cuticle structure, well-differentiated paracloacal papillae and the wrinkle cuticle of the papillae are clear examples that enhance the above differentiation of structures as seen by LM or SEM. Similarly, in P. ceticola the cuticle striations, bulky cloacal lips, rectangular distribution pattern of distal papillae and the absence of a groove separating paracloacal papillae which are obliquely arranged are all different to those features previously described.