''Philometra'' is a

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 ...

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

s, which are

parasite 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 ...

s of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of both marine and freshwater fishes. When still in the larval stages, these worms move to the body cavities or subcutaneous tissues in the host. This migration can cause damage to skeletal joints, result in internal bleeding, and inflame visceral organs. Emaciation and lowered growth rates may result from this. Infestation produces nodules under the skin. When the worms are in the adult or juvenile stage, these nodules may be visible between the rays of the fins or may cause the scales to raise up. Larger nodules may be the result of gravid females which may rupture the skin surface. Once ruptured, the female disintegrates. This allows the release of the live larvae into the water. This wound on the fish then heals, leaving almost no scarring. Species of ''Philometra'' require two hosts to complete their life cycle. After the larval worms are released from the host fish, they are ingested by

copepods Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have p ...

which act as an intermediate host. Once inside the copepod, the larvae molt several times. Fish may then eat the infested copepod.

Known hosts

Species of this genus are known to parasitize numerous species of fish, including: *

Blacktip grouper The blacktip grouper (''Epinephelus fasciatus''), also known as the redbanded grouper, blacktipped cod, black-tipped rockcod, footballer cod, red-barred cod, red-barred rockcod, scarlet rock-cod or weathered rock-cod, is a species of marine ray-fi ...

Herring scad The herring scad (''Alepes vari'') (also known as the duskyfin crevalle and trevally scad), is a common species of tropical marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The species inhabits the surface waters of coastal regions throughout the Indo- ...

Bigeye scad The bigeye scad (''Selar crumenophthalmus'') is an oceanic fish found in tropical regions around the globe. Other common names include purse-eyed scad, goggle-eyed scad, akule, chicharro, charrito ojón, jacks, matang baka, mushimas and coulirou ...

Bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

Gallery

File:Parasite170008-fig1 - Ovary of fish with visible Philometra females.png, Ovary of fish with visible ''Philometra females'' File:Parasite140007-fig6 Philometra fasciati Moravec & Justine, 2008 (Nematoda, Philometridae).tif, ''

Philometra fasciati ''Philometra fasciati'' is a species of parasitic nematode of fishes, first found off New Caledonia in the South Pacific, in the gonads '' Epinephelus fasciatus''. This species is characterized mainly by: length of spicules and length and stru ...

'' File:Parasite140007-fig1 Philometra austropacifica Moravec & Justine, 2014 (Nematoda, Philometridae).tif, ''

Philometra austropacifica ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' File:Parasite140007-fig9 Philometra selaris Moravec & Justine, 2014 (Nematoda, Philometridae).tif, ''

Philometra selaris ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Parasite140132-fig1 Philometra protonibeae (Nematoda, Philometridae).png, ''

Philometra protonibeae ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Parasite140132-fig2 Philometra protonibeae (Nematoda, Philometridae).png, ''

'' Parasite140132-fig3 Philometra protonibeae (Nematoda, Philometridae).png, ''

'' Parasite140132-fig4 Philometra sp. (Nematoda, Philometridae) from Lutjanus johnii.png, ''Philometra'' sp.

Taxonomy

The following species are recognized by the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

: * '' Philometra gerrei'' Moravec & Manoharan, 2013 * ''

Philometra globiceps ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' (Rudolphi, 1819) * ''

Philometra lagocephali ''Philometra lagocephali'' is a species of parasitic nematode of fishes, first found off New Caledonia in the South Pacific Ocean in the abdominal cavity of ''Lagocephalus sceleratus''. This species is characterized mainly by the length of its sp ...

'' Moravec & Justine, 2008 * ''

Philometra onchorhynchi ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Kuitinen-Ekbaum, 1933 * ''

Philometra otolithi ''Philometra otolithi'' is a species of parasitic nematode of fishes, infecting the gonads of marine perciform fishes off the eastern Indian coast. It was first found in the tigertooth croaker, '' Otolithes ruber''. It is distinguished from it ...

'' Moravec & Manoharan, 2013 * ''

Philometra ovata ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' (Zeder, 1803) * ''

Philometra priacanthi ''Philometra priacanthi'' is a species of parasitic nematode of fishes. Its name is derived from its host species, ''Priacanthus hamrur''. It possesses dorsal lamella-like structures on the distal part of its gubernaculum, which can also be found ...

'' Moravec & Justine, 2009 * ''

Philometra rischta ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Skrjabin, 1917 * ''

Philometra rubra ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' ( Leidy, 1856) * ''

Philometra saltatrix ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Ramachandran, 1973 * '' Philometra sanguinea'' (

Rudolphi Karl Asmund Rudolphi (14 July 1771 – 29 November 1832) was a Swedish-born German naturalist, who is credited with being the "father of helminthology". Life Rudolphi was born in Stockholm to German parents. He was awarded his PhD in 1793 a ...

, 1819) * ''

Philometra scombresoxis ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Nikolaeva & Naidenova, 1964 * ''

Philometra sphyraenae ''Philometra sphyraenae'' is a species of parasitic nematode of fishes, infecting the gonads of marine perciform fishes off the eastern Indian coast. It was first found in the pickhandle barracuda, ''Sphyraena jello''. It is distinguished from ...

'' Moravec & Manoharan, 2013 * '' Philometra tauridica'' Ivashkin, Naidenova, Kovaleva & Khromova, 1971 * ''

Philometra translucida ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Walton, 1927

''Nomina dubia''

* '' Philometra brevicollis'' Moravec & Justine, 2011 * '' Philometra carolinensis'' Moravec , de Buron & Roumillat, 2006 * '' Philometra cephalus'' Ramachandran, 1975 * '' Philometra charlestonensis'' Moravec , de Buron, Baker & González-Solís, 2008 * '' Philometra cyanopodi'' Moravec & Justine, 2008 * ''

Philometra cynoscionis ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Moravec , de Buron & Roumillat, 2006 * ''

'' Moravec & Justine, 2008 * ''

Philometra filiformis ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' ( Stossich, 1896) * '' Philometra floridensis'' Moravec , Fajer-Avila & Bakenhaster, 2010 * '' Philometra genypteri'' Moravec , Chávez & Olivia, 2011 * '' Philometra gymnothoracis'' Moravec & Buron, 2009 * ''

Philometra inimici ''Philometra'' is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845. Species in this genus are worldwide. They parasitize the body cavities, tissues and ovaries of ...

'' Yamaguti, 1941 * '' Philometra isaki'' Quiazon, Yoshinaga & Ogawa, 2008 * '' Philometra jordanoi'' (López-Neyra, 1951) * '' Philometra justinei'' Moravec , Ternengo & Levron, 2006 * '' Philometra katsuwoni'' Petter & Baudin-Laurencin, 1986 * '' Philometra lateolabracis'' ( Yamaguti, 1935) * '' Philometra lethrini'' Moravec & Justine, 2008 * '' Philometra macroandri'' (Shchepkina, 1978) * '' Philometra madai'' Quiazon, Yoshinaga & Ogawa, 2008 * '' Philometra managatuwo'' Yamaguti, 1941 * '' Philometra margolisi'' Moravec , et al., 1995 * '' Philometra mexicana'' Moravec & Salgado-Maldonado, 2007 * '' Philometra mira'' Moravec & Justine, 2011 * '' Philometra nemipteri'' Luo, 2001 * '' Philometra neolateolabracis'' Rajyalakshmi, Hanumantha Rao & Shyamasundari, 1985 * '' Philometra neptomeni'' Mateo, 1972 * '' Philometra obladae'' Moravec , Gaglio, Panebianco & Giannetto, 2008 * '' Philometra obturans'' (Prennant, 1886) * '' Philometra ocularis'' Moravec , Ogawa, Suzuki, Miyazaki & Donai, 2002 * '' Philometra overstreeti'' Moravec & de Buron, 2006 * '' Philometra pellucida'' (Jägerskiöld, 1893) * '' Philometra rajani'' Mukherjee, 1963 * '' Philometra sciaenae'' Yamaguti, 1941 * '' Philometra scomberomori'' ( Yamaguti, 1935) * '' Philometra sebastisci'' Yamaguti, 1941 * '' Philometra serranellicabrillae'' Janiszewska, 1949 * '' Philometra strongylurae'' Moravec & Ali, 2005 * '' Philometra tenuicauda'' Moravec & Justine, 2009 * '' Philometra terapontis'' Moravec , Gopalakrishnan, Rajkumar, Saravanakumar & Kaliyamoorthy, 2011 * '' Philometra tylosuri'' Moravec & Ali, 2005

Known hosts

Gallery

Taxonomy

''Nomina dubia''

References

Further reading