A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE SYSTEMATICS OF PROTEOCEPHALUS-MACROCEPHALUS (CREPLIN, 1825) (CESTODA, PROTEOCEPHALIDAE)

The tapeworm Proteocephalus macrocephalus (Creplin, 1825), a parasite of the eel Anguilla anguilla, was characterised using morphological an d genetic characters. The species is morphologically typified mainly b y features of the scolex (i.e. shape and size of an apical organ which is formed early during the development in an intermediate host) and s trobila (i.e. regularly rectangular proglottides, morphology of the va gina and anterior position of the seminal receptacle). Genetically, I? macrocephalus was compared with two congeners, P. percae and P. exigu us. Characters enabling differentiation of P. macrocephalus were as fo llows: fu;ed allelic differences at Got, Pgm and Gapdh loci, metrical features of chromosomes Nos 1, 2 and 7, and species-specific fragments obtained by RAPD method using 13 random primers.