Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2009
The anatomy and behaviour of the oncomiracidia of Kuhnia scombri, K. sprostonae and Grubea cochlear, related mazocraeid monogeneans from the gill chamber of the mackerel, Scomber scombrus, caught off Plymouth are compared. K. sprostonae and G. cochlear are new records at Plymouth. The most important anatomical difference between these larvae is that those of Kuhnia spp. possess a pair of pigment-shielded eyes which are lacking in G. cochlear. The freshly hatched larvae of Kuhnia spp. are strongly photopositive but this response wanes after about 1 h in K. scombri and 1–5 h in K. sprostonae. No response to light was detected in larvae of G. cochlear. Most older larvae of Kuhnia spp. and of G. cochlear swim continuously upwards and downwards, even in ‘darkness’, indicating an alternation between positive and negative geotropism. The larvae of Kuhnia spp. possess angular cells (?) of unknown function close to the pharynx. The larvae of all three species contain prominent anterior glands and lipid droplets; the latter are depleted during their long free-swimming lives (up to 36 h in Kuhnia spp. at 13–14°C).