Placentonema gigantissima
Placentonema gigantissima is a giant nematode that parasitizes the placenta of the sperm whale. With a length of 8.4 metres (28 ft) and a diameter of 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in), it is potentially the largest nematode worm ever described. It was discovered in the 1950s around the Kuril Islands. Placentonema gigantissima develops its parasitic nature by utilizing nutrients found in the endometrium of female sperm whales and forming as spiriud (small, embroyonated) eggs.[1] It can parasitize not only the placenta, but also the uterus, reproductive tract, mammary glands, or subdermis of the sperm whale.[2][3]
| Placentonema gigantissima | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Chromadorea |
| Order: | Rhabditida |
| Family: | Tetrameridae |
| Genus: | Placentonema |
| Species: | P. gigantissima |
| Binomial name | |
| Placentonema gigantissima (Gubanov, 1951) | |
References
- Juan-Sallés, Carles; Garner, Michael M. (2019). "67 - Avian Spirurids". Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine Current Therapy. 9: 471. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-55228-8.00067-9. ISBN 9780323552288. S2CID 239100923.
- Hermosilla, Hirzmann (2018). "Occurrence of anthropozoonotic parasitic infections and faecal microbes in free-ranging sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) from the Mediterranean Sea". Parasitology Research. 117 (8): 2537. doi:10.1007/s00436-018-5942-3. PMID 29858939. S2CID 44140815.
- Gubanov, NM (21 April 1951). "Гигантская нематода из плаценты китообразных Placentonema gigantissima nov. gen., nov. sp" [Giant nematoda from the placenta of Cetacea; Placentonema gigantissima nov. gen., nov. sp] (PDF). Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR (in Russian). 77 (6): 1123–1125. PMID 14822893. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2013.
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