The Rhombozoa, or Dicyemida, are a group of tiny parasites that live in the renal appendages of cephalopods.
| Rhombozoa/Dicyemida | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Superphylum: | |
| Phylum: | Rhombozoa van Beneden, 1876 |
| Families | |
| |
Classification is controversial.[1] They are probably a new phylum. Traditionally, dicyemids have been grouped with the Orthonectida in the Mesozoa. However, molecular phylogeny indicates that dicyemids may be more closely related to the roundworms.[2]
Anatomy
Adult dicyemids range in length from 0.5 to 7 millimetres (0.020 to 0.276 in), and they can be seen through a light microscope.[3] They have eutely: each adult individual of a given species has the same number of cells. Cell number is a useful identifying character.
The organism's structure is simple: a single axial cell is surrounded by a jacket of twenty to thirty ciliated cells.[3]
Life cycle
Dicyemids exist in both asexual and sexual forms. The asexual forms are found in juvenile and immature hosts; and the sexual forms in mature hosts.
The asexual stage is termed a nematogen; it produces vermiform (worm-like) larvae in the axial cell. These mature through direct development to form more nematogens.[3] Nematogens proliferate in young cephalopods, filling the kidneys. Later, as the hosts mature, sexual forms called rhombogens are formed. They are hermaphrodites, with gonads of both sexes. The rhombogens self-fertilise, and later release larvae.
References
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