Comparative Study of the Fine Morphology of Sensory Receptors in Aspidogaster conchicola and Cotylaspis insignis
It has been suggested that parasitism results in a reduction of sensory structures which concomitantly reflects a reduction in the complexity of the nervous system. The present study tests this hypothesis by examining the fine morphology and the distribution of sensory receptors for two species of aspidogastrid trematodes by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The species chosen are an ectoparasite, Cotylaspis insignis and an endoparasite, Aspidogaster conchicola.Aspidogaster conchicola and Cotylaspis insignis were obtained from natural infections of clams, Anodonta corpulenta and Proptera purpurata. The specimens were fixed for transmission electron microscopy in phosphate buffered paraformaldehyde followed by osmic acid in the same buffer, dehydrated in an ascending series of ethanol solutions and embedded in Epon 812.