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Ultrastructure and function Of the proboscis in Melanella alba (Gastropoda: Eulimidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Timothy B. Smith
Timothy B. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University College, Galway, Ireland
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Extract

The free living eulimid gastropod Melanella alba Bowdich, 1822 is a temporary ectoparasite on echinoderms and, in Kilkerrin Bay on the west coast of Ireland, this species is found exclusively associated with the holothuroid Neopentadactyla mixta (Östergren), 1898. Melanella utilizes a highly specialized acrembolic proboscis to penetrate the integument and ingest the internal tissues of this holothuroid. That portion of the proboscis which penetrates integument bears a highly developed secretory epithelium composed of granular and goblet secretory cells. As the proboscis is unfolded into the host's integument by a combination of increased hydrostatic pressure and muscular movements, secretory material is released from this epithelium and appears to bring about a rapid loosening of the connective tissue elements of the host. The possible mechanism by which the integumental connective tissue is altered to allow unfolding of the proboscis into the coelomic cavity of the host is discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , August 1984 , pp. 503 - 512
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1984

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