Tenuisentidae is a
family of parasitic spiny-headed (or thorny-headed) worms. The family contains two genera, each with one species.
Description and taxonomy
Species
There are two genera, each with a single species.
''Paratenuisentis''
Bullock and Samuel, 1975
* ''Paratenuisentis ambiguus''
(Van Cleave, 1921)
''P. ambiguus'' infects the
European eel
The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases.
Eels have been important sources of fo ...
(''Anguilla anguilla'').
''Tenuisentis''
Van Cleave, 1936
* ''Tenuisentis niloticus''
(Meyer, 1932)
''T. niloticus'' was found infecting the small intestine of the
African arowana (''Heterotis niloticus''). The species name ''niloticus'' derives from the species name of the host fish, also ''niloticus''. It has also been found in the Egyptian
Nile and
River Sourou at
Di, Sourou Province,
Burkina Faso,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and
Mali.
It has also been found in the
electric catfish (''Malapterurus electricus'') in
Lekki Lagoon
Lekki Lagoon is a lagoon located in Lagos and Ogun states in Nigeria. The lagoon lies directly to the east of Lagos Lagoon and is connected to it by a channel. It is surrounded by many beaches.
Real Estate Developments
There are two phases in the ...
,
Lagos,
Nigeria.
[Pak J Biol Sci. 2007 Feb 1;10(3):427-32. A comparative study of the parasitic helminth fauna of Gymnarchus niloticus (Gymnarchidae) and Heterotis niloticus (Osteoglossidae) from Lekki Lagoon, Lagos, Nigeria. Akinsanya B1, Hassan AA, Otubanjo OA.] The
proboscis contains 16 (rarely 15) rows of hooks, each with 30–33 hooks with the average hook length per row being 1,105 um in the female and 993 um in the male. The hooks are not symmetrical in robustness dorso-ventrally but does contain similar length angles of curvature. The ventral hooks were considerably larger and more recurved than the dorsal hooks. The males have cement glands between 6.62 and 6.92 mm long. There are 86–146 nuclei.
Hosts
Worms of the ''Tenuisentidae'' family exclusively parasitize fish.
File:Anguilla anguilla.jpg, alt=European eel swimming on river bed, The European eel
The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases.
Eels have been important sources of fo ...
is a host of ''P. ambiguus''
File:Heterotis niloticus MHNT ICHT 1995 69.jpg, alt=Preserved African arowana on a white background, The African arowana is a host of ''T. niloticus''
Notes
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2742806
Neoechinorhynchida
Acanthocephala families