a·can·tho·ceph·a·lan

(ə-kăn′thə-sĕf′ə-lən) also a·can·tho·ceph·a·lid (-lĭd)

[From New Latin Acanthocephala, phylum name : acantho- + Greek kephalē, head; see -cephalous.]

a·can′tho·ceph′a·lan adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

acanthocephalan

(əˌkænθəʊˈsɛfələn)

(Animals) any of the parasitic wormlike invertebrates of the phylum Acanthocephala, the adults of which have a spiny proboscis and live in the intestines of vertebrates

adj

(Zoology) of, relating to, or belonging to the Acanthocephala

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spin′y-head`ed worm′

any of a small group of intestinal parasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, having a proboscis covered with hooks used for attachment.

[1945–50]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

acanthocephalan - any of various worms living parasitically in intestines of vertebrates having a retractile proboscis covered with many hooked spines

spiny-headed worm

worm - any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae

Acanthocephala, phylum Acanthocephala - phylum or class of elongated wormlike parasites that live in the intestines of vertebrates: spiny-headed worms

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References in periodicals archive

The level of aggegration of both acanthocephalan species on their respective hosts was quantified by calculating the negative binomial exponent, k (Wilson et al., 2002).

Variation in the prevalence and abundance of acanthocephalans in brown-nosed coatis Nasua nasua and crab-eating foxes Cerdocyon thous in the Brazilian Pantanal/Variacao na prevalencia e na abundancia do parasitismo de acantocefalos em dois carnivoros silvestres do Pantanal brasileiro

Analysis of distinctions between the acanthocephalan genera Filicollis and Polymorphus, with description of a new species of Polymorphus.

Algunos helmintos parasitos de la gaviota peruana (Larus belcheri)

(S.) inopinatus and acanthocephalan Octospiniferoides sp.

Metazoan endoparasites of Brycon orbignyanus (Characidae: Bryconinae) in a neotropical floodplain

The increase in the lamina propia of the intestine has been similarly described for the teleost's intestinal epithelia affected by trematodes or cestodes and in salmonids infested with acanthocephalan parasites (Dezfuli & Giari, 2008).

Histopathological changes induced by Caligus rogercresseyi in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

No acanthocephalan and trematode parasites were observed during the study period.

Prevalence of helminth parasites in fishes (Salmo trutta and Schizothorax plagiostomus) in India

Parasites such as the trematodes Pygidiopsis genata (metacercaria), Cryptocotyle concavum met., Cryptocotyle lingua met., and Timoniella imbutiforme met., nematode Dichelyne minutus, and acanthocephalan Acanthocephaloides propinquus were previously observed in the three gobiids in various sites of the northwestern Black Sea and Crimean coasts.

Metazoan Parasite Faunas of Three Gobiid Species (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) Inhabiting the Lower Kizilirmak Delta in Samsun: A Comparative Study/Samsun'da Asagi Kizilirmak Deltasinda Yasayan Uc Kaya Baliginin (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) Karsilastirmali Metazoan Parazit Faunasi

(2) 1/3 (33.3%; 6.8-80.6%) Strongyles (Suborder Rhabditina) 7/14 (50%; 26.6-73.4%) Unidentified acanthocephalan 1/14 (Phylum Acanthocephala) (7.1%; 1.7-31.9%) Trapped possums (no.

Parasitic infections of brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula in urbanised environments and bushland in the greater Perth region, Western Australia

Strongylid parasites and four other nematodes, one acanthocephalan and one protozoan, were detected.

Internal Parasites of Pigs and Worm Control Practices in Bamboutos, Western Highlands of Cameroon

gondii in rats, acanthocephalan worms (also known as spiny-headed worms) override the natural photophobia of their freshwater crustacean hosts.

Researching how parasites pull the strings of their hosts

Gammarids regularly harbor manipulative acanthocephalan parasites that modify their anti-predator behavior in ways that potentially increase the probability of trophic transmission to their definitive hosts.