Palaeacanthocephala

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Palaeacanthocephala
Proboscis of a Rhadinorhynchus species
Proboscis of a Rhadinorhynchus species
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked) Bilateria
Superphylum: Platyzoa
Phylum: Acanthocephala
Class: Palaeacanthocephala
A.Meyer, 1931
Orders

Echinorhynchida
Polymorphida

Palaeacanthocephala ("ancient thornheads") is a class within the phylum Acanthocephala. The adults of these parasitic platyzoans feed mainly on fish, aquatic birds and mammals.

The nuclei of the hyperdermis {outer layer of skin) are fragmented and the males have two to seven cement glands unlike their relatives the Archiacanthocephala which always have eight.

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