Amphimermis enzoni

Amphimermis enzoni	Contents	Rev 10/23/2024
	Classification	Hosts
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Amphimermis Menu	Economic Importance	Damage
	Distribution	Management
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Classification:

Enoplea

Dorylaimia
Mermithida

Mermithina: Mermithoidea; Mermithidae; Amphimermis enzoni Rusconi, Di Battista, Balcazar, Rosales & Achinelly, 2020

Morphology and Anatomy:

White medium size nematodes vary from 3 to 10 cm long.
Cuticle has cross fibers.
Head is rounded. Mouth is terminal surrounded by six cephalic papillae.
Opening of lateral cephalic papillae is at the level of or slightly anterior to the level of submedian cephalic papillae.
Amphids cup-shaped.
Six hypodermal cords

Female:

Vulva is a transverse slit at the middle of the body. Vulval flap is present,. vulval cone is absent.
Vagina S- shaped, long, muscular and posterior loop is slightly smaller in length than anterior loop
Junction of vagina and uterus is slightly posterior to vulva.
Tail is conical and slightly flattened on the ventral surface.

Male:

Spicules paired; proximal part is twisted for 34% of its length, then untwisted for 12%, twisted for 30%, and finally untwisted for 24%.
First genital papillae ate level of the first untwisted part of the spicule; spicule length is approximately 8 x cloacal body diam. cloaca.
Genital papillae in three rows; medial row marginally longer than sub-medial rows; medial row is bifurcate immediately anterior and posterior to cloaca; there are a total of 111 genital papillae.
Tail curled, conoid, and bluntly rounded.

Ref: Rusconi et al., 2020

Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:

Distribution:

Species described from nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies (Ischnura fluviatilis and Rhionaeschna bonaerensis) from a stream in Argentina.

Feeding:

As with other Mermithidae, there is a stichosome consisting of a longitudinal serial duplication of esophageal glands (stichocytes) which are exterior to the esophagus musculature, each with a duct into the esophageal lumen
In the later stages of development, stichosome separates from the intestine, which becomes a trophosome in which the walls and lumen of the intestine disappear resulting in a syncyteal structure. with no anal opening to the exterior.

As the nematodes mature in the host nymph, they become oriented longitudinally in the abdominal and thoracic regions of the host. They can be seen with the naked eye during the late stages of parasitic development. The nematodes emerge from the hosts in the regions of the anus or mouth, usually killing the host (Rusconi et al., 2020). The emerge from thwe host as post-parasitic juveniles with similar dimensions as the adults. They molt to the adult stages which mate and lay eggs or release juveniles into sedimentl at the bottom of a shallow water body

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this species, click	If species level data are not available, click for genus level parameters

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

Ferris, H. 2007. Stichosomida. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. http://accesscience.com/abstract.aspx

Rusconi, J.M., Di Battista, C., Balcazar, D., Rosales, M., Achinelly, M.F. 2020. Amphimermis enzoni n. sp. (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasitizing damselflies and dragonflies in Argentina. J. Nematology DOI: 10.21307/jofnem-2020-051