Clamps are the main attachment structure of the
Polyopisthocotyleanmonogeneans.[3] These
ectoparasitic worms have a variable number of clamps on their
haptor (the posterior attachment organ); each clamp is attached to the host fish, generally to its gill.
Clamps include sclerotised elements, called the
sclerites, and
muscles.
The structure of clamps varies according to the groups within the Polyopisthocotylean monogeneans; microcotylids have relatively simple clamps, whereas gastrocotylids have more complex clamps.
^Bychowsky, B. E. (1957) Monogenetic Trematodes. Their systematic and phylogeny. Akad. Nauka. USSR. English translation by the American Institute of Biological Science, Washington. 509 pp.
doi:
10.5962/bhl.title.7475