Hysterothylacium
Genus of roundworms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hysterothylacium is a genus of parasitic roundworms in the family Raphidascarididae. As of 2020 it consists of over 70 species[1][2][3][4][5][6] and is considered one of the largest of the ascaridoid genera parasitising fish.
| Hysterothylacium | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hysterothylacium epinepheli (Yamaguti, 1941) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Chromadorea |
| Order: | Ascaridida |
| Family: | Raphidascarididae |
| Genus: | Hysterothylacium Ward & Magath, 1917 |
Ecology
Species in the genus complete their life cycle between predatory teleost fish[7] as their final host and various species of invertebrates and teleost as their intermediate hosts. These parasites are not host specific in the larval stages and infect a broad range of fish species; thus they are widely distributed throughout the aquatic ecosystem and exhibit a global distribution. Hysterothylacium aduncum infection in fish has been associated with mechanical damage to the heart, eye and fish musculature which occurs as a result of parasite larval migration.[8][9] Catastrophic loss of fish fry due to infection with an unknown species of Hysterothylacium has been reported.[10] Human infection is not common but has been reported in Japan.[11]