title: Third-stage larvae emerge from eggs of Contracaecum osculatum (Nematoda, Anisakidae).
abstract: In Contracaecum osculatum Rudolphi, 1802 (Nematoda, Anisakidae) the first and the second ecdyses occur inside the egg. Larvae forced out from the eggs by coverslip pressure are surrounded by 2 cuticles, revealing 2 previous ecdyses. It is thus the third-stage larva that emerges from the hatched egg and not the second-stage larva as previously believed. The cuticle of the first-stage larva is thin, smooth, and remains in the egg, whereas the cuticle of the second-stage larva is thick, striated, and, serving as a cover, loosely ensheaths the released larva.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Helsingør, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Køie
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Fagerholm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017191:Ascaridida Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001199:Ascaridoidea / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D046048:Seals, Earless / Q000469:parasitology*