Davies, Ronald W. (1978). The Morphology of Ozobranchus margoi (Apathy) (Hirudinoidea), a Parasite of Marine Turtles. The Journal of Parasitology. 64(6): 1092-1096.
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Davies, Ronald W.
1978
The Morphology of Ozobranchus margoi (Apathy) (Hirudinoidea), a Parasite of Marine Turtles
The body of Ozobranchus margoi is divisible into a trachelosome and urosome. Two gonopores occur on segment XII at the base of the trachelosome within a single genital aperture. The first of the 5 pairs of gills occurs on segment XIII. The first gill pair is larger and more complexly subdivided than the second; proceeding posteriorly, the gill pairs become sequentially smaller and less complex. Compared with the description for the family Ozobranchidae (Richardson, 1969) the alimentary canal of O. margoi differs in that the crop bears 5 pairs of diverticula and there is no distinct termination of the pharynx at XII/XIII. The reproductive system is situated in the branchiate segments of the urosome. The male system consists of 4 pairs of subspherical testes in segments XIV through XVII on either side of the posterior crop, occupying the spaces between the crop sacs. The paired, tubular ovaries in segments XIV through XVI lead to oviducts that fuse to form a common oviducal bridge, from which the common oviduct narrows to form a thin vagina. Additionally, a tightly coiled tube arises from the oviducal bridge which leads to a saclike seminal receptaculum and a coiled sperm reception canal that unites with the vagina. This arrangement of the sperm reception canal and seminal receptaculum differs from previous descriptions.
