Placentonema gigantissima
a large parasitic worm in the placenta of a whale, black and white photo
Placentonema gigantissima in the placenta of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Nematoda
Class: Chromadorea
Order: Rhabditida
Family: Tetrameridae
Genus: Placentonema
Species:
P. gigantissima
Binomial name
Placentonema gigantissima
(Gubanov, 1951)

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.[1] Placentonema gigantissima develops its parasitic nature by utilizing nutrients found in the endometrium of female sperm whales and forming as spiriud (small, embroyonated) eggs.[2] It can parasitize not only the placenta, but also the uterus, reproductive tract, mammary glands, or subdermis of the sperm whale.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Gubanov, Nikolai Mikhailovich (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.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ Hermosilla, Carlos; Hirzmann, J.; Silva, L. M. R.; Brotons, J. M.; Cerdà, M.; Prenger-Berninghoff, E.; Ewers, C.; Taubert, A. (2018). "Occurrence of anthropozoonotic parasitic infections and faecal microbes in free-ranging sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) from the Mediterranean Sea". Parasitology Research. 117 (8): 2531–2541. doi:10.1007/s00436-018-5942-3. ISSN 0932-0113.


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