Femogibbosus is a monotypic genus of acanthocephalans (thorny-headed or spiny-headed parasitic worms) containing a single species, Femogibbosus assi, that infests animals.

Femogibbosus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Acanthocephala
Class: Palaeacanthocephala
Order: Echinorhynchida
Family: Cavisomidae
Genus: Femogibbosus
Paruchin, 1973[1]
Species:
F. assi
Binomial name
Femogibbosus assi
Paruchin, 1973

Taxonomy

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The species was described by Paruchin in 1973.[1] The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on Femogibbosus that would confirm its position as a unique order in the family Cavisomidae.[2]

Description

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F. assi consists of a proboscis covered in hooks and a trunk. It differs from Rhadinorhynchoides by having 14 rows of hooks (with 10 hooks in each row), the shape of the cement glands, and the arrangement of the testes.[1]

Distribution

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The distribution of F. assi is determined by that of its hosts. It was found off the Oman coast in the Indian Ocean.[1]

Hosts

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Life cycle of Acanthocephala.[3][a]
 
Nemipterus japonicus is the host of F. assi

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. Although the intermediate hosts of Femogibbosus are ???. When the acanthor molts, the second stage called the acanthella begins. This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth which is the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, differing from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor is passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. There may be paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction) for Femogibbosus.[5]

F. assi was found in the intestine of Nemipterus japonicus.[1] There are no reported cases of F. assi infesting humans in the English language medical literature.[4]


Notes

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  1. ^ There are no known aberrant human infections for F. assi species.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Paruchin A. Femogibbosus assi nov. gen. et spec., ein neuer Kratzer aus dem Indik [Femogibbosus assi nov. gen. et spec., a new acanthocephalan from the Indian Ocean]. Angew Parasitol. 1973 Feb;14(1):18-23. German. PMID 4728591.
  2. ^ Schoch, Conrad L; Ciufo, Stacy; Domrachev, Mikhail; Hotton, Carol L; Kannan, Sivakumar; Khovanskaya, Rogneda; Leipe, Detlef; Mcveigh, Richard; O’Neill, Kathleen; Robbertse, Barbara; Sharma, Shobha; Soussov, Vladimir; Sullivan, John P; Sun, Lu; Turner, Seán; Karsch-Mizrachi, Ilene (2020). "NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools". Taxonomy Browser. NCBI. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  3. ^ CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (11 April 2019). "Acanthocephaliasis". www.cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b Mathison, BA; et al. (2021). "Human Acanthocephaliasis: a Thorn in the Side of Parasite Diagnostics". J Clin Microbiol. 59 (11): e02691-20. doi:10.1128/JCM.02691-20. PMC 8525584. PMID 34076470.
  5. ^ Schmidt, G.D. (1985). "Development and life cycles". In Crompton, D.W.T.; Nickol, B.B. (eds.). Biology of the Acanthocephala (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 273–305. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.