Rev 02/23/2024
Parastrichosoma crocodylus Ashford & Muller, 1978
Morphologically, the two described Paratrichosoma species, P. recurvum and P, crocodylus are quite similar.
General characteristics of genus:
Long, slender nematodes, 2-7 mm long, 0.082-0.167 mm diam.
Cuticle unusually thick and smooth.
Cloaca with a thick cuticular lining.
Males lack caudal papillae and a distinct lobe on the posterior end
Male spicule well-developed spicule, which has a cover at the anterior.
Stichosome present that does not reach reach the intestine. The stichosome consists of single row of rather long and uniformly colored stichocytes with a smooth surface.
Differences between species
rough transverse grooves on the spicule of P. crocodylus but not on the spicule of P. recurvum
protruding polar plugs on the eggs of P. recurvum but not on the eggs of P. crocodylus.
Mesenchynal cells at the esophago-intestinal junction are absent in P. crocodylus but present in small amounts in P. recurvum,
the posterior end of the ovary extends beyond the anterior end of the rectum in P. crocodylua but does not in P. recurvum
Ref: Lott, 2015; Ashford and Muller 1978, Moravec and Vargas-Vazquez 1997.
Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:
Most infections are known from crocodilein breeding ponds where crocodiles are being farmed for skins.
.Host crocodiles may have zigzag trails and scars under and on the epidermis caused by movement of nematodes under the epidermis and discharge of nematode eggs from the skin into the surrounding environment. The symproms are sometimes known as "creeping disease" because of the trails.
Ecophysiological Parameters:
Managing crocodile densities in crocodile farm breeding ponds to reduce infection probabilities.
Ashford, R. W., and R. Muller. 1978. Paratrichosoma crocodylus n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae) from the skin of the New Guinea crocodile. Journal of Helminthology 52:215–220.
Lott, M.J. 2015. Nematode community dynamics in Australian vertebrates: Impacts of contemporary captive management prectices. PhD Thesis, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia..
Moravec, F., and J. Vargas-Vazquez. 1998. First description of the male and redescription of the female of Paratrichosoma recurvum (Nematoda: Capillariidae), a skin-invading parasite of crocodiles in Mexico. Parasitology Research 84:499–504.