Cucullanus		Contents		Rev: 05/21/2025
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Cucullanus Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Cucullanidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

  Chromadoria

   Rhabditida

Spiruria

              Seuratoidea

               Cucullanidae

       Cucullanus Mueller, 1777

Intestinal parasites of marine, brackish water and freshwater fish and eels throughout the world.

    Synonyms:
     

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Because of their rather similar morphology and the inadequate descriptions of many nominal species, it is practically impossible to make a detailed comparison among them. Some authors prefer to characterize these parasites according to their host groups or geographic regions (e.g., Petter, 1974)

General Characteristics:

• medium size,
•  thin cuticule
• no intestinal cecum
•  conical tail without small terminal alae in male
• well-developed esophastome

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Distribution:

A range of marine habitats. For example, Cucullanus austropacificus and C. gymnothoracis are described from fish inhabiting tropical reefs of the Indo-Pacific while C.  incognitus is described from a deep-water fish  occurring near the Chesterfield Islands and New Caledonia of the southwest Pacific Ocean (Moravec and Justine, 2018).

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Cucullanus

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Cucullanus

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

Moravec, F. and Justine, J-L. 2017. Two new species of nematode parasites, Cucullanus epinepheli sp. n. (Cucullanidae) and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) sinespinis sp. n. (Camallanidae), from  marine serranid and haemulid ishes of New Caledonia. Folia Parasitologica 64:011; doi: 10.14411/fp.2017.011

Moravec, F., Justine, J.L. 2018. Three new species of Cucullanus (Nematoda: Cucullanidae) from marine fishes off New Caledonia, with a key to the species of Cucullanus from Anguilliformes. Parasite 25:51; doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2018050

Moravec, F., Justine, J-L. 2019. New species and new records of camallanid nematodes (Nematoda, Camallanidae) from marine fishes and sea snakes in New Caledonia. Parasite 26:66; doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2019068

Ndew, D.E., Diouf, M. Ba, C.T., Morand, S. 2014. A New Species of Cucullanus (Nematoda: Cucullaninae, Cucullanidae) from Mugil curema (Mugilidae) in Senegal (West Africa). Comp Parasitol. 81:15-22

Petter A.-J. 1974: Essai de classiication de la famille des Cucullanidae. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat., Paris, 3e ser., No. 255, Zoologie 177:1469-1490

Copyright 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: May 21, 2025.