In vitro development of the nematode Contracaecum osculatum Rudolphi 1802 (Nematoda: Anisakinae)

Eggs of Contracaecum osculatum were dissected from the vagina and uterus of adult worms from seals and were incubated in seawater at 15C. Freshly hatched larvae were cultivated to preadult in Eagle's medium (MEM) with 20% foetal calf serum.At 15C, the ensheathed second-stage larvae exsheathed and grew to the infective stage without further molts. Infective larvae of C. osculatum were 6.5 mm (5.9–9.5) in length after 32 weeks.At 35C, 58% of infective larvae > 2 mm in length molted to subadults which possessed cuticular lips but lacked interlabia. Subadults were 2.9–13.8 mm in length and morphologically similar to larvae found attached to the gastric mucosa of seals. Four subadults subsequently molted to preadults 13.1–17.2 mm in length with interlabia. However, an attempt lo infect a seal with cultivated infective larvae was unsuccessful.