Abstract

A scanning electron microscopic stuey on the glochidial encystment study on the golchidal encystment and excystment of Anodonta fukudai on Acheilognathus yamatsutae, a common natural hostfish, was conducted. The glochidium easily attached to the unscaled surfaces of the host fish such as the fins, lips, and the wall of the buccal cavity. For this study, the fins infected with the glochidia wer mainly observed in a series. The process of encystment was slowly progressed, for 21-25 hours for the early cyst and for 2-4 days for the thick walled cyst. The process of excystmint was visually detected on the 12th day since the attachmint was occurred. The first visible sign was a little tear of the cyst wall covering the hinge and marginal zones of the juvenile clam and once the little sign was appeared the progress of emerging and dettachmint of the juvenile clam from the host was finished relatively in short time. During the process of the encystmint, the cells participationg in covering the attached glochidirm were seened mainly supplied by migration from the surroundings. the shapes of the cells migrating and covering the glochidium were considerably changed and the surface structures of the cells lost their normal pattern of the surface ridges. The unstable forms of the cells were observed almost all throughout the period of the glochidial attachment. No cells of the host epithelium, which were still attached to the juvenile clam energing from the cyst, were observed. The most juvenile clams escaped from the cysts were a little bigger than the glochidia and they were still possessed of the golchidial hooks even though much degenerated. The first growth line was appeared on the shell valves of the juvenild clam when observed right after dettachment.