Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2009
The position of the plerocercoid in the body cavity of rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus was investigated. It is shown that in 6 fish out of 880 fry examined at one month old, plerocercoids occurred in the pericardial cavity and dorsal muscle tissue whereas in 733 immature fish and 220 adult fish the plerocercoid was recovered only from the body cavity. The anomalous positions of the plerocercoids are discussed, and it is suggested that the small size of the rudd fry and the short duration of the plerocercoid in the body cavity prevented site recognition, and may have resulted in the anomalous positions.