| Spirurida | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dirofilaria immitis larva Magnification 400× | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Chromadorea |
| Order: | Rhabditida |
| Suborder: | Spirurida |
| Superfamilies | |
10, but seetext | |
Spirurida falls under the phylumNematoda classChromadorea and orderSpirurida. They are characterized by their elongated, cylindrical bodies and unsegmented structure. Like all nematodes, they have neither acirculatory nor arespiratory system.
Some Spirurida, like thegenusGongylonema, can cause disease in humans. One such disease is a skin infection with Spirurida larvae, called "creeping disease". Some species are known as eyeworms and infect the orbital cavity of animal hosts.
TheCamallanida are sometimes included herein as asuborder, and theDrilonematida are sometimes placed here as asuperfamily. There are doubts about the internal systematics of the Spirurida, and some groups placed herein might belong to other spirurian or evensecernentean lineages.[1]
The following superfamilies are at least provisionally placed in the Spirurida:
Media related toSpirurida at Wikimedia Commons | ThisSecernentea roundworm- related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
