Occurrence of an Egg-String in Enoplus communis Bastian, 1865 (Nematoda: Enoplidae)

Abstract

ADULT members of the phylum Nematomorpha, residing in aquatic habitats, lay their eggs within long strings commonly referred to as ‘egg-strings’. In the nematomorphs this egg-string is considered a secretory product of the antrum (a common chamber situated between the uteri and the cloaca and lined with a layer of glandular epithelium)¹. Whereas the egg-laying habits of the nematomorphs are fairly well described, those of marine nemas are practically unknown. Hyman¹, in the Nematoda section of her invertebrate compilation, states that some marine nemas lay their eggs in an adhesive mass. Recently, the opportunity to elaborate on this observation was presented while I was studying marine nemas at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.