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Clamps are the main attachment structure of the Polyopisthocotylean
These ectoparasitic worms have a variable number of clamps on their haptor (the posterior attachment organ); each clamp is attached to the host fish, generally to its gill. Clamps include sclerotised elements, called the
Clamps are the main attachment structure of the Polyopisthocotylean monogenea
Monogeneans are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female repr ...
ns. Bychowsky, B. E. (1957) Monogenetic Trematodes. Their systematic and phylogeny. Akad. Nauka. USSR. English translation by the American Institute of Biological Science, Washington. 509 pp. These ectoparasitic worms have a variable number of clamps on their haptor (the posterior attachment organ); each clamp is attached to the host fish, generally to its gill. Clamps include sclerotised elements, called the
sclerite
A sclerite (Greek , ', meaning " hard") is a hardened body part. In various branches of biology the term is applied to various structures, but not as a rule to vertebrate anatomical features such as bones and teeth. Instead it refers most commonly ...
s, and muscles
Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of musc ...
.
The structure of clamps varies according to the groups within the Polyopisthocotylean monogeneans; microcotylids have relatively simple clamps, whereas gastrocotylids have more complex clamps.
References
{{Reflist Platyhelminth anatomy