Spiruria

Spiruria
Microfilariae of Mansonella perstans (left) and Loa loa (Spirurida: Filariidae)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Nematoda
Class:	Secernentea
Subclass:	Spiruria
Orders
Ascaridida Camallanida (disputed) Drilonematida (disputed) Oxyurida Rhigonematida Spirurida
Synonyms
Spirurina

Subclass Spiruria comprises mostly parasitic secernentean nematodes. In an alternate classification, they are treated as suborder Spirurina, with the orders listed here being ranked as infraorders.

Spiruria contains a diverse group of worms that inhabit soil, water, and other bodies of organism. The subclass of Spiruria has a specialized structure called stoma, which ingests fluid from its host's tissue.

The Ascaridida and the Oxyurida, which include worms that infect many mammals (including marine mammals), are sometimes placed in subclass Rhabditia. But that seems as spurious as the erstwhile placement of the Rhigonematida in subclass Tylenchia. The Camallanida and Drilonematida are sometimes included in the Spirurida as suborder and superfamily, respectively.

There is a lot of ongoing debate about the taxonomy of Spiruria. Some place the subclass Ascaridia and Oxyurida within Rhabditia subclass.

Some important species

• Giant roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), causes ascariasis in humans
• Toxocara canis, parasite of dogs
• Anisakis, responsible for the human disease Anisakiasis

References

• Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) (2002): Nematoda. Version of 2002-JAN-01. Retrieved 2008-NOV-02.
• Bowman, D. D. (2014). Georgis' parasitology for veterinarians. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Hawdon, J. M., & Schad, G. A. (1990). Trichinella and trichinosis. Oxford University Press.