Acanthocephalan

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /əˌkæn.θəˈsÉ›f.É™.lÉ™n/, /əˌkænt.θəˈsÉ›f.É™.lÉ™n/, /əˌkæn.θoʊˈsÉ›f.É™.lÉ™n/
• Rhymes: -É›fÉ™lÉ™n

Alternative forms

• acanthocephalid

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἄκανθος (akanthos, "thorn") + κεφαλή (kephalē, "head").

Full definition of acanthocephalan

Noun

1. (zoology) Any of parasitic intestinal worms comprising the phylum Acanthocephala. First attested late 19th c.Brown, Lesley, ed. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. 5th. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
• 1970, D. W. T. Crompton, An Ecological Approach to Acanthocephalan Physiology, page 25,That discussion of fish intestines is justified because many acanthocephalans have been described from fish.
• 2006, B. B. Nickol, Phylum Acanthocephala, P. T. K. Woo (editor), Fish Diseases and Disorders, Volume 1: Protozoan and Metazoan Infections, 2nd Edition, page 458,Clearly acanthocephalans contain large amounts of lipid and possess enzyme systems for lipid metabolism (Filipponi et al., 1994; Weber et al., 1995); however, use of these lipid deposits in energy metabolism is yet to be demonstrated.
• 2009, Dennis J. Richardson, Brent B. Nickol, 15: Acanthocephala, Carter T. Atkinson, Nancy J. Thomas, D. Bruce Hunter (editors), Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds, page 277,Acanthocephalans are dioecious pseudocoelomate worms remarkably adapted to a parasitic lifestyle in that there is no mouth or digestive system.

Synonyms

• (any species of Acanthocephala) spiny-headed worm, thorny-headed worm

Adjective

1. (zoology) In a manner similar to Acanthocephala. First attested late 19th c.