On the ascarids parasitic in seals, with special reference to the genus Contracaecum

Abstract

Difficulties encountered in the determination of species of Contracaecum from seals led the writer to undertake a comparative morpholgical study of a considerable amount of material. This included the Ascarids from seals collected by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (Scotia) in 1902–4, and deposited in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, which were obtained on loan through the courtesy of Dr A. C. Stephen. In the present paper some results of this investigation are presented, and short notes are added on other species of Ascaridae recorded from Pinnipedia.