Gorytocephalus

Gorytocephalus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Acanthocephala
Class:	Eoacanthocephala
Order:	Neoechinorhynchida
Family:	Neoechinorhynchidae
Genus:	Gorytocephalus Nickol & Thatcher, 1971

Gorytocephalus is a genus in Acanthocephala (thorny-headed worms, also known as spiny-headed worms) belonging to the family Neoechinorhynchidae. ^[1]

Taxonomy

The genus was described by Nickol & Thatcher, 1971. The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on Gorytocephalus that would confirm its position as a unique order in the family Neoechinorhynchidae. ^[2]

Description

Gorytocephalus species consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a long trunk.

Species

The genus GorytocephalusNickol & Thatcher, 1971 contains four species. ^[1]

• Gorytocephalus elongorchisThatcher, 1979
• Gorytocephalus plecostomorumNickol and Thatcher, 1971 ^[3]
• Gorytocephalus spectabilis(Machado-Filho, 1959) ^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• Gorytocephalus talaensisVizcaino and Lunaschi, 1988

Distribution

The distribution of Gorytocephalus is determined by that of its hosts. The species of this genus are found in Southern America. ^[1]

Hosts

Life cycle of Acanthocephala.

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 Gorytocephalus 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 Gorytocephalus. ^[6]

Gorytocephalus parasitizes animals. There are no reported cases of Gorytocephalus infesting humans in the English language medical literature. ^[5]

• Hosts for Gorytocephalus species

Notes

1. A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Gigantorhynchus. This species was originally named Neoechinorhynchus spectabilis by Machado-Filho in 1959 but moved to Gorytocephalus by Nickol and Thatcher, 1971. ^[3]
2. There are no known aberrant human infections for Gorytocephalus species. ^[5]

References

1. "Gorytocephalus Nickol & Thatcher, 1971". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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 April 1, 2024.
3. Nickol, B. B., & Thatcher, V. E. (1971). Two New Acanthocephalans from Neotropical Fishes: Neoechinorhynchus prochilodorum sp. n. and Gorytocephalus plecostomorum gen. et sp. n. The Journal of Parasitology, 57(3), 576–581. https://doi.org/10.2307/3277919
4. CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (April 11, 2019). "Acanthocephaliasis". www.cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
5. 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.
6. 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.