Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma
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| Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma | |
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| Species: | S. phrynosoma |
| Binomial name | |
| Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma (Ortlepp, 1922) Schulz, 1927 | |
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Physaloptera phrynosoma Ortlepp, 1922[1] | |
Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma is a parasitic worm in the phylum Nematoda, the most diverse of pseudocoelomates. Like many other parasites, the life cycle of S. phrynosoma is complicated and it involves two hosts – a lizard (e.g.: the desert horned lizard Phrynosoma platyrhinos or the Texas horned lizard Phrynosoma cornutum) and an ant.
The interesting aspect of the life cycle of S. phrynosoma is that the parasitic worm adjusts its life cycle to that of both the ant and the lizard. During the middle of the mating season of the desert horned lizard Phrynosoma platyrhinos, the female worm is already filled with the greatest number of eggs it can contain in itself. At the same time, the number of the ants actively hunting for food reach peak abundance. Also, this is the time when the ant colonies are busy with developing ant larvae. S. phrynosoma takes advantage of these active periods of the two hosts' life cycle and spread their offspring successfully.[2]
