A MATHEMATICAL-MODEL FOR THE SHAPE OF THE HOOKS OF CESTODAE

The shape of hooks is of a taxonomic significance for cestoda. In orde r to characterize shape through numbers, a mathematical model of drawi ngs in two-dimensional space is proposed. This model is a synthetic on e: first, it uses a large number of points on the edge of a hook-drawi ng as data; secondly, it enables to draw a specific hook by means of a computer after the parameters have been extracted from the data. The method does not use landmarks and therefore avoids the difficulty of l ocating them. The ensuing discussion concerns description in common pa rlance versus mathematical language, the genesis of hooks and descript ion in three-dimensional space.