Gnathostoma malaysiae
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| Gnathostoma malaysiae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Chromadorea |
| Order: | Rhabditida |
| Family: | Gnathostomatidae |
| Genus: | Gnathostoma |
| Species: | G. malaysiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Gnathostoma malaysiae Miyazaki & Dunn, 1965 | |
Gnathostoma malaysiae is a nematode that is a parasite of rats in Malaysia and Thailand and is suspected of causing gnathostomiasis in humans.
When preserved in liquid, the rear third of the adult Gnathostoma malaysiae swells. The head has nine rows of hooks, with spines covering the rest of the body. Spines immediately behind the head have one or two points. Moving down the body the spines quickly become three pointed, with the middle point longer than the lateral points. After an interval of three-pointed spines, four-, five-, and some six-pointed spines gradually appear, and cover the middle part of the body. On the last third of the body, the part that swells when preserved in liquid, the spines rapidly decrease in size and number of points, with the spines on the back half of the swollen section having just one point. Males are 16 mm long, with the slender front part 10.5 to 11 mm long and 1.3 to 1.5 mm wide and the swollen rear part 5 to 5.5 mm long and 2.5 to 3 mm wide. Females are 20.8 to 22.3 mm long with the slender front part 12.8 to 14.3 mm long and 1.3 to 1.5 mm wide and the swollen rear part 5 to 5.5 mm long and 3 to 3.5 mm wide. Eggs have two polar caps, and a granulated surface. The type hosts were the red spiny rat (Macromys surifer and the Malayan field rat (Rattus tiomanicus). The type site was Tioman Island, Malaysia.[1]