''Huffmanela hamo'' is a
parasitic
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...
nematode.
[Justine, J.-L. & Iwaki, T. 2014: ''Huffmanela hamo'' sp. n. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from the dagger-tooth pike conger ''Muraenesox cinereus'' off Japan. Folia Parasitologica, 61, 267–271]
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It has been observed in the muscles of the dagger-tooth pike conger ''
Muraenesox cinereus
The daggertooth pike conger (''Muraenesox cinereus'') also known as the darkfin pike eel in Ozzyland, to distinguish it from the related pike-eel (''Muraenesox bagio''), is a species of eel in the pike conger family, Muraenesocidae. They prim ...
'', a
muraenesocid marine fish off
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Its life-cycle is unknown.
Description
![Huffmanela hamo eggs in Muraenesox cinereus 1C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Huffmanela_hamo_eggs_in_Muraenesox_cinereus_1C.JPG)
The adults are unknown, only the eggs were described.
The parasite was detected by the presence of small black spots, 1–2 mm in diameter, in the flesh (muscles) of fish; these black spots are accumulations of eggs. The eggs are 66–77 μm (mean 72 μm) in length and 33–38 μm (mean 35 μm) in width. The surface of the eggs is smooth and bears neither envelope nor filaments. The nematode was differentiated from other members of the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Huffmanela
''Huffmanela'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Trichosomoididae.
Morphology
As other nematodes, species of ''Huffmanela'' are elongate and vermiform. They are especially thin and small. The male is smaller than the fem ...
'' by the dimensions of its eggs and the characteristics of their surface. It is the single ''
Huffmanela
''Huffmanela'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Trichosomoididae.
Morphology
As other nematodes, species of ''Huffmanela'' are elongate and vermiform. They are especially thin and small. The male is smaller than the fem ...
'' species which is parasitic in a fish of the family
Muraenesocidae
The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water.
Pike congers have cylindrical bodies, scaleless skin, narrow heads with large ...
.
Since ''Huffmanela hamo'' is a parasite of the flesh and the fish is consumed by humans, it is useful to remind that species of the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Huffmanela
''Huffmanela'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Trichosomoididae.
Morphology
As other nematodes, species of ''Huffmanela'' are elongate and vermiform. They are especially thin and small. The male is smaller than the fem ...
'' do not infest humans, and thus the consumption of infected fish is harmless.
[Moravec, František. 2001: Trichinelloid Nematodes parasitic in cold-blooded vertebrates. Academia, Praha ()]
See also
*''
Huffmanela
''Huffmanela'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Trichosomoididae.
Morphology
As other nematodes, species of ''Huffmanela'' are elongate and vermiform. They are especially thin and small. The male is smaller than the fem ...
''
*''
Huffmanela branchialis
''Huffmanela branchialis'' is a parasitic nematode It has been observed on the gills of the fork-tailed threadfin bream ''Nemipterus furcosus'', a nemipterid marine fish off New Caledonia. Its eggs are released from the gill mucosa with the t ...
''
*''
Huffmanela filamentosa
''Huffmanela filamentosa'' is a parasitic nematode It has been observed on the gills of the lethrinid fish '' Gymnocranius oblongus'' and '' Gymnocranius grandoculis'' off New Caledonia. Its eggs are released from the gill mucosa with the turnov ...
''
*''
Huffmanela lata
''Huffmanela lata'' is a parasitic nematode.Justine, J.-L. 2005: ''Huffmanela lata'' n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from the shark ''Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos'' (Elasmobranchii: Carcharhinidae) off New Caledonia. Systematic P ...
''
*''
Huffmanela ossicola
''Huffmanela ossicola'' is a parasitic nematode. It has been observed in the branchial arch bone and the spinal cord bone (as well as others) of the labrid marine fishes ''Bodianus loxozonus'', ''Bodianus busellatus'' and ''Bodianus perditio'' ...
''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18350261
Enoplea
Parasitic nematodes of fish
Nematodes described in 2014