A family of parasites of fish, the first descrbed were mainly in South America. Very few known species, some described from only a single male specimen.
The genera of this family have a somewhat scattered distribution as parasites of marine and freshwater fish along the coasts of North and South America (Aragort et al., 2002).
More recently, the number of genera assigned to the family has increased. However, their hosts are quite different, some freshwater and some martne and from different environments around the world. That suggests to some authors that the family assignments are based mainly on morphological similarities rather than true relationships.
In most genera of the family,
occur in the abdominal cavity of the host although one species is located in t
he periorbital region and Histodytes miroocellatus
occurs in a wide variety of host tissues (Aragort et al., 2002).
Adamson, M.L. and Roth, M. 1990. Prevalence and Intensity of Pseudodelphis oligocotti n. gen., n. sp. (Dracunculoidea; Guyanemidae) in the Tidepool Sculpin, Oligocottus maculosus (Scorpaeniformes; Cottidae). Journal of Parasitology, 76:509-514.
Aragort, W., Alvarez, F., Iglesias, R., Leiro, J.,\ and Sanmartin, M.L. 2002. Histodytes microocellatus gen. et sp. nov. (Dracunculoidea: Guyanemidae), a parasite of Raja microocellata on the European Atlantic coast (north-western Spain). Parasitol. Res. 88:932-940.
Munoz, G. 2010. A New Species of Pseudodelphis (Dracunculoidea: Guyanemidae) in the Intertidal Fish Scartichthys viridis (Blenniidae) from Central Chile. J. Parasitol 19:152-156
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