Sclerocollum

These species have been found off the coasts of Australia, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Palau.

Sclerocollum species consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a trunk.

[1] The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the definitive host and then ingested by an arthropod, the intermediate host.

This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing.

[1] There are no reported cases of Sclerocollum infesting humans in the English language medical literature.

Diagram of the life cycle of Acanthocephala
Life cycle of Acanthocephala. [ 2 ] [ a ]