Notocotylus

The notocotylids are small, delicate flukes only a few mm long. They are monostomes. The digestive system in this specimen is not clearly visible. At the posterior of the worm (bottom) are two opposite testes, with smooth inner margins and irregular outer margins. The ovary is between the testes. Proceeding anterior from the ovary is the uterus, which loops back and forth until about the middle of the body, then it proceeds as a thin, straight tube to the genital pore which is located just posterior to the oral sucker. Dark lateral fields of vitellaria are located in the posterior 1/3 of the body. The cirrus pouch is very large, extending from the genital pore back to the point where the uterus begins coiling. The swollen posterior portion of the cirrus pouch contains the internal seminal vesicle and stains dark because of the large number of spermatozoa stored within.