Saunders College, PhiladelphiaĬhitwood BG, Chitwood MB (1950) Introduction to nematology. 2020).īarnes RD (1980) Invertebrate zoology, 4th edn. 2016 Schwab 1999 Thorp and Rogers 2015 Zanca et al. 2005 Illies 1978 Kriska and Tittizer 2009 Quigley 1977 Schmidt-Rhaesa 2012 Schmidt-Rhaesa et al. 2019 Fitter and Manuel 1986 Hanelt et al. Following the death of the host, worms emerge from the corpse via the anus (or close to it) and look for an appropriate site to lay their eggs (Barnes 1980 Damborenea et al. The total development of the Gordian worms takes place within the host, while they more and more completely fill its body cavities. Beside aquatic insects, terrestrial ones such as grasshoppers, cockroaches and beetles can be parasitised by horsehair worms. Should a carnivorous insect eat the infected host, larvae can invade its body and continue their development within (i.e. With a trunk-like organ, larvae penetrate the body of the host where they develop till maturity. Subsequent to hatching, microscopic larvae search their appropriate hosts: different kinds of aquatic insects, diving beetles and caddisfly larvae. Females attach the fertilised eggs in gelatinous strings to submersed stones and water plants.
Individuals are quite similar to each other, yet males can be identified on the grounds of their two posterior tail-lobes, the genital papillae. Organs of respiration, circulation and excretion are missing. Adults do not feed at all thus, their digestive tract is vestigial. Horsehair worms are most often found in slowly flowing regions of mountain brooks and in the spring outflows close to the bottom. The name of the most well-known genus Gordius originates from the appearance of these species resembling the Gordian knot (Fig. The contraction of the muscles of such arrangement makes the slowly squirming motion that often results in intricate knots on their body. Muscular system consists only of longitudinal muscle elements. Body surface is covered with thick, more or less hardened cuticle. The diameter of their unsegmented body is chiefly less than 1 mm. Horsehair (Gordian) worms (phylum Nematomorpha) are extremely elongated cylindrical worms often exceeding 20 cm in length.
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