''Philometra'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
nematodes, 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
Oronzo Gabriele Costa (26 August 1787, Alessano – 7 November 1867 Naples) was an Italian zoologist.
At first a physician, he taught zoology at the University of Naples. He wrote 126 papers on various subjects, principally entomology, and in 184 ...
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 which act as an intermediate host. Once inside the copepod, the larvae
molt
In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...
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
*
Herring scad
*
Bigeye scad
*
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''
File:Parasite140007-fig1 Philometra austropacifica Moravec & Justine, 2014 (Nematoda, Philometridae).tif, '' Philometra austropacifica''
File:Parasite140007-fig9 Philometra selaris Moravec & Justine, 2014 (Nematoda, Philometridae).tif, '' Philometra selaris''
Parasite140132-fig1 Philometra protonibeae (Nematoda, Philometridae).png, '' Philometra protonibeae''
Parasite140132-fig2 Philometra protonibeae (Nematoda, Philometridae).png, '' Philometra protonibeae''
Parasite140132-fig3 Philometra protonibeae (Nematoda, Philometridae).png, '' Philometra protonibeae''
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 specialis ...
:
* ''
Philometra gerrei''
Moravec & Manoharan, 2013
* ''
Philometra globiceps''
(Rudolphi, 1819)
* ''
Philometra lagocephali''
Moravec & Justine, 2008
* ''
Philometra onchorhynchi''
Kuitinen-Ekbaum, 1933
* ''
Philometra otolithi''
Moravec & Manoharan, 2013
* ''
Philometra ovata''
(Zeder, 1803)
* ''
Philometra priacanthi''
Moravec & Justine, 2009
* ''
Philometra rischta''
Skrjabin, 1917
* ''
Philometra rubra''
( Leidy, 1856)
* ''
Philometra saltatrix''
Ramachandran, 1973
* ''
Philometra sanguinea''
( Rudolphi, 1819)
* ''
Philometra scombresoxis''
Nikolaeva & Naidenova, 1964
* ''
Philometra sphyraenae''
Moravec & Manoharan, 2013
* ''
Philometra tauridica''
Ivashkin, Naidenova, Kovaleva & Khromova, 1971
* ''
Philometra translucida''
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''
Moravec , de Buron & Roumillat, 2006
* ''
Philometra fasciati''
Moravec & Justine, 2008
* ''
Philometra filiformis''
( Stossich, 1896)
* ''
Philometra floridensis''
Moravec , Fajer-Avila & Bakenhaster, 2010
* ''
Philometra genypteri''
Moravec , Chávez & Olivia, 2011
* ''
Philometra gymnothoracis''
Moravec & Buron, 2009
* ''
Philometra inimici''
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
References
Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q5268606
Secernentea genera
Camallanida
Parasitic nematodes of fish
Taxa named by Oronzio Gabriele Costa