A CHROMOSOME STUDY OF SCHISTOCEPHALUS-SOLIDUS (MULLER, 1776) (CESTODA, PSEUDOPHYLLIDEA)

Analysis of Giemsa-stained metaphase plates of plerocercoids of Schist ocephalus solidus revealed the mode diploid number of chromosomes for this species as 2n = 18. Chromosome pairs 1, 5, 6, 8 and 9 are metacen tric, pairs 2, 4 and 7 are subtelocentric, and pair 3 is subtelocentri c to acrocentric. The karyotype is characterised by mean absolute chro mosome length between 1.9 and 5.9 mu m and a total chromosome length o f the haploid complement of 32 mu m. A comparison with other known kar yotypes of related species of pseudophyllidean cestodes was made.