Nemertodermatid endosymbionts of deep-sea acorn worms (<i>Hemichordata, Torquaratoridae</i>)

Abstract

Worm-like endosymbionts were found in the hepatic region of a deep-sea acorn worm, a representative of the family Torquaratoridae Quatuoralisia malakhovi [Ezhova et Lukinykh, 2022] from the Bering Sea. Histological study of the symbionts allows us to attribute them to the taxon Nemertodermatida. Torquaratorids are similar in type of feeding to holothuroids, in which the xenacoelomorph endosymbionts have also been found.