Comparisons of Gymnophallid digeneans from north Pacific and Baltic clams, Macoma balthica (Bivalvia)

Three gymnophallid species in Macoma balthica from the northeastern Pacific Ocean are similar to 3 species in M. balthica from the Baltic Sea. Using light and scanning electron microscopy, we compared the anatomy of the larvae of 2 species of Lacunovermis and of Gymnophallus, and the adults of 2 species of Lacunovermis recovered from incubation on chick allantoic membrane. The third similar pair of Meiogymnophallus multigemmulus and Parvatrema affinis was restudied with light microscopy. Previously described anatomical differences between the 3 pairs of Pacific and Baltic gymnophallids were nullified in this study. Lacunovermis conspicuus Ching, 1965 is synonymized with Lacunovermis macomae (Lebour, 1908), and Gymnophallus gibberosus Loos-Frank, 1971 is synonymized with Gymnophallus somateriae (Levinsen, 1881). Meiogymnophallus multigemmulus Ching, 1965 is synonymized with Parvatrema affinis (Jameson and Nicoll, 1913), becoming M. affinis n. comb.