| Physaloptera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| P. ngoci , male caudal extremity [1] | |
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| P. ngoci, scanning electron microscopy | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Chromadorea |
| Order: | Rhabditida |
| Family: | Physalopteridae |
| Genus: | Physaloptera Rudolphi, 1819 |
| Species | |
See text | |
Physaloptera is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the family Physalopteridae. Species include:
Undescribed or unidentified species have been found on the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) in the southern United States, [4] the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris) in Florida, [8] and Leontopithecus rosalia , Physalaemus soaresi , Cacajao calvus , and Lagothrix lagotricha in Brazil. [2]
Most species utilize insects such as crickets, cockroaches, and beetles as intermediate hosts. [9] Several species of Physaloptera can be parasites of primates and man. [10] [11] This rare disease is known as spiruridiasis. Human infection is considered to be ancient; eggs of Physaloptera sp. were found in a grave of the Bronze Age in Iran. [9]
Maritrema heardi is a parasitic fluke that infects the marsh rice rat in a salt marsh at Cedar Key, Florida. It was first listed as Maritrema sp. II in 1988, then described as the only species of a new genus, Floridatrema heardi, in 1994, and eventually reassigned in 2003 to Maritrema as Maritrema heardi. Its intermediate host is the fiddler crab Uca pugilator and it lives in the intestine of the marsh rice rat, its definitive host. Together with two other species of Maritrema, it is very common in affected marsh rice rats; it infects 19% of studied rats at Cedar Key. According to Tkach and colleagues, M. heardi is probably primarily a parasite of birds that has secondarily infected the marsh rice rat. Floridatrema was distinguished from Maritrema on the basis of its possession of loops of the uterus that extend forward to the place where the intestine is forked or even to the pharynx. Genetically, M. heardi may be closest to the morphologically similar M. neomi, which infects Neomys water shrews in the Carpathians.
Aonchotheca forresteri is a parasitic nematode that infects the marsh rice rat in Florida. Occurring mainly in adults, it inhabits the stomach. It is much more common during the wet season, perhaps because its unknown intermediate host is an earthworm that only emerges when it rains. The worm was discovered in 1970 and formally described in 1987. Originally classified in the genus Capillaria, it was reclassified in Aonchotheca in 1999. A. forresteri is small and narrow-bodied, with a length of 13.8 to 19.4 mm in females and 6.8 to 9.2 mm in males. Similar species such as A. putorii differ in features of the alae and spicule, the size of the female, and the texture of the eggs.
Hassalstrongylus lichtenfelsi is a nematode worm of the genus Hassalstrongylus that infects the marsh rice rat in Florida. The females cannot be distinguished from those of the other species in the marsh rice rat, H. forresteri and H. musculi.
Taenia rileyi is a tapeworm of the genus Taenia from the United States. Adults infect bobcats and feral domestic cats, but larvae have been found in rodents such as the cotton mouse, the marsh rice rat in Florida, and the hispid cotton rat in Florida and Georgia. These rodents may serve as intermediate hosts.
Taenia mustelae is a tapeworm of the genus Taenia from the United States. Adults infect carnivorans such as weasels, skunks, and martens, but larvae have been found in rodents such as the Florida mouse and the marsh rice rat in Florida and the hispid cotton rat in Florida and Georgia. These rodents may serve as intermediate hosts.
Catatropis johnstoni is a fluke from the United States. It was first described in 1956 by Martin, who had found cercariae released by the snail Cerithidea californica in southwestern California. When the cercaria were fed into chickens, they developed into mature worms; Martin speculated that the natural host was a waterbird. In 1970, a study of helminths of the marsh rice rat in a saltmarsh at Cedar Key, Florida, found flukes similar to C. johnstoni. The fluke was present in 30% of 110 examined rice rats, with the number of worms per rat varying from 1 to 500. Some Cerithidea scalariformis snails from this marsh also released cercariae similar to C. johnstoni from California. When introduced into chickens, marsh rice rats, Mongolian gerbils, golden hamsters, and house mice, these cercariae developed into infectious flukes. Bush and Kinsella, who reported on the result in 1972, regarded the Florida and California flukes as the same species, as there were only minor size differences between them. Because no marsh-inhabiting rodent occurs in both California and Florida, they agreed with Martin that the normal host of C. johnstoni was most likely a bird, perhaps a rail or shorebird. Nevertheless, the rate of infection in the rice rat is too high for it to be just an accidental host; perhaps C. johnstoni is restricted to saltmarshes but not host-specific.
Maritrema is a genus of trematodes (flukes) in the family Microphallidae, although some have suggested its placement in the separate family Maritrematidae. It was first described by Nikoll in 1907 from birds in Britain. Species of the genus usually infect birds, but several have switched hosts and are found in mammals, such as the marsh rice rat. Several species use the fiddler crab Uca pugilator as an intermediate host.
Odhneria odhneri is a digenean parasite in the genus Odhneria of family Microphallidae. It infects several species of shorebirds, including the willet, as well as the marsh rice rat.
Urotrema scabridum is a fluke in the genus Urotrema of family Urotrematidae. Recorded hosts include:
Capillaria gastrica is a parasitic nematode in the genus Capillaria. Among the known host species are the marsh rice rat and deermouse.
Litomosoides scotti is a parasitic nematode in the genus Litomosoides. First described in 1973, it infects the marsh rice rat and is known from a saltwater marsh at Cedar Key, Florida.
Mastophorus muris is a parasitic nematode in the genus Mastophorus. It infects animals such as the marsh rice rat, hispid cotton rat, and singing vole.
Monodontus is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the subfamily Bunostominae of family Ancylostomatidae. Most of its species occur in rodents and suids, but Monodontus louisianensis is from the white-tailed deer and Monodontus giraffae from the giraffe. An unspecified Monodontus has been recorded from the marsh rice rat in Florida.
Parastrongylus schmidti is a species of parasitic nematode in the genus Parastrongylus. It was first described as Angiostrongylus schmidti in 1971 from the marsh rice rat in Florida, but later assigned to Parastrongylus.
Pterygodermatites ondatrae is a species of parasitic nematode in the genus Pterygodermatites. It has been recorded in the hispid cotton rat in Florida and Texas. In Florida, it has also been recorded on the marsh rice rat, together with an unnamed species of the same genus, the female of which cannot be distinguished from that of P. ondatrae.
Pterygodermatites is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the family Rictulariidae. Their life-cycle is complex. Species include:
Physaloptera hispida is a parasitic nematode in the genus Physaloptera. It has been found on the marsh rice rat, hispid cotton rat, Florida mouse, cotton mouse, and oldfield mouse in Florida.
Trichostrongylus affinis is a species of parasitic nematode in the genus Trichostrongylus. It primarily infects cottontails (Sylvilagus), but has also been found in the hispid cotton rat and the marsh rice rat.
Trichostrongylus sigmodontis is a species of parasitic nematode in the genus Trichostrongylus. It primarily infects the hispid cotton rat, but has also been found in the marsh rice rat.