Huffmanela lata
| Huffmanela lata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Egg of Huffmanela lata | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Enoplea |
| Order: | Trichocephalida |
| Family: | Trichosomoididae |
| Genus: | Huffmanela |
| Species: | H. lata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Huffmanela lata Justine, 2005
| |
Huffmanela lata is a parasitic nematode.[1] It has been observed on the skin of the grey reef shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos off New Caledonia. This species has only been reported once in the scientific literature.[1]
Description
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The adults of Huffmanela lata are unknown, only the eggs were described.[1] The eggs are 77–88 (mean 84) micrometers in length and 52–63 (mean 57) micrometers in width, with a thick (6–8 micrometers) shell, apparently spinose. Mobile larvae, 200–250 micrometers in length, were visible in the eggs.
Biology
[edit]As it is often the case for species of Huffmanela, the species was found because the accumulation of its eggs produced a black spot; in this particular case, the black spot was on the skin of the shark, near the gill. No adult were found.[1]
The biology of Huffmanela lata is unknown. Its eggs are probably released from the skin with the turnover of living tissues and immediately continue their life-cycle. The intervention of an intermediary host in the life-cycle (possibly an invertebrate) is possible, as it has been suggested for other species of Huffmanela.[2] However, it is also possible that transmission of the parasite from shark to shark occurs when sharks congregate and skin-to-skin contacts between sharks are frequent.[1] Other species of Huffmanela are known from other sharks.[3][4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Justine, J.-L. 2005: Huffmanela lata n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from the shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Elasmobranchii: Carcharhinidae) off New Caledonia. Systematic Parasitology, 61, 181–184.
- ^ Moravec, František. 2001: Trichinelloid Nematodes parasitic in cold-blooded vertebrates. Academia, Praha (ISBN 80-200-0805-5)
- ^ Bullard, S. A., Ruiz, C. F., McElwain, A., Murray, M. J., Borucinska, J. D. & Benz, G. W. 2012: Huffmanela cf. carcharhini (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from skin of a sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, in the Pacific Ocean. Journal of Parasitology, 98, 333–340. doi:10.1645/GE-2962.1
- ^ Moravec, František. 1987: Revision of Capillariid Nematodes (Subfamily Capillariinae) parasitic in fishes. Studie ČSAV No. 3, Academia, Praha, 141 pp.
External links
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