Adult dracunculoid nematodes are parasites occurring in tissues and body cavities of mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds.
The biology and host-parsite relationships of the Guinea Worm (Dracunculus medinensis) are quite well known but there is a lack of general life history knowledge of many other species.
In many cases, species descriptions are based on characteristics of males, which are often difficult to find because of their smaller size and lower abundance than females.
Recently,
host-switching has been reported in dracunculids and that will require
further study of the biology of the gebus.
.Cleveland, C.A., Garrett, K.B., Cozad, R.A., Williams, B.M.. Murray, M.H., Yabsley, M.J. 2018. The wild world of Guinea Worms: A review of the genus Dracunculus in wildlife. Int. J. Parasitology: Parasites and wildlife 7:289-300.
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