/prəʊˈskəʊlᵻsiːz/, U.S. /proʊˈskoʊləˌsiz/.proscolexn.
/prəʊˈskəʊlɛks/, U.S. /proʊˈskoʊˌlɛks//prəʊˈskəʊlᵻsiːz/, U.S. /proʊˈskoʊləˌsiz/. Zoology. Now rare.
The six-hooked embryo or first larval stage of a tapeworm; = oncosphere n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Platyhelminthes > [noun] > class Cestodes > member of > segmented > embryo
proscolex1859
brood-capsule1870
oncosphere1892
1859 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 3 346 The embryo is always covered with cilia (this form is named Proscolex), and for a time lives freely in the water.
1864 T. S. Cobbold Entozoa viii. 105 The mature proglottides at the caudal end are capable of realizing an independent existence, and the eggs which they contain develop the six-hooked embryos, or proscolices (Van Beneden), in their interior.
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 233 That the proscolex may develope in an alimentary canal is proved by P. J. Van Beneden's discovery of proscolices with scolices in all stages of growth in the intestine of the Lump-fish.
1917 R. S. Lull Org. Evol. xvii. 274 On the wall of the proscolex a hollow ingrowth is formed, on the inner surface of which suckers and hooks characteristic of the head or scolex of the adult develop.
1965 T. J. Parker & W. A. Haswell Text-bk. Zool. (ed. 6) I. 235 The embryos contained within the eggs have meantime assumed the form of..the six-hooked embryo or proscolex enclosed within two membranes.
Derivatives
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1890 Cent. Dict. Proscolecine, pertaining to a proscolex, or having its character.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1859