Hexaspiron
{{Short description|Genus of thorny-headed worms}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image =
|image_caption =
|taxon = Hexaspiron
|authority = Dollfus & Golvan, 1956Golvan, Y. J. (1988). Hexaspiron nigeriensis Dollfus et Golvan, 1956 (Eoacanthocephala) est un Gyracanthocephala. Annales de parasitologie humaine et comparée, 63(6), 410-413.
}}
Hexaspiron is a genus in Acanthocephala (thorny-headed worms, also known as spiny-headed worms) belonging to the family Neoechinorhynchidae.{{cite web |title=Hexaspiron Dollfus & Golvan, 1956 |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/2500951 |website=www.gbif.org |access-date=11 May 2021 |language=en}}
Taxonomy
The genus was described by Dollfus & Golvan in 1956. The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on any Hexaspiron species that would confirm its position as a unique order in the family Neoechinorhynchidae.{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=60528
| title = NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools.
|first1=Conrad L |last1=Schoch
|first2=Stacy |last2=Ciufo
|first3=Mikhail |last3=Domrachev
|first4=Carol L |last4=Hotton
|first5=Sivakumar |last5=Kannan
|first6=Rogneda |last6=Khovanskaya
|first7=Detlef |last7=Leipe
|first8=Richard |last8=Mcveigh
|first9=Kathleen |last9=O’Neill
|first10=Barbara |last10=Robbertse
|first11=Shobha |last11=Sharma
|first12=Vladimir |last12=Soussov
|first13=John P |last13=Sullivan
|first14=Lu |last14=Sun
|first15=Seán |last15=Turner
|first16=Ilene |last16=Karsch-Mizrachi
| date = 2020
| website = Taxonomy Browser
| publisher = NCBI
| access-date = April 1, 2024
| quote =
}}
Description
Hexaspiron species consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a trunk.
Species
The genus Hexaspiron Dollfus & Golvan, 1956 contains two species.
Distribution
Hosts
[[File:Acanthocephala LifeCycle lg.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Diagram of the life cycle of Acanthocephala|Life cycle of Acanthocephala.{{cite web
| url = https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/acanthocephaliasis/index.html
| title = Acanthocephaliasis
| last = CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria
| date = April 11, 2019
| website = www.cdc.gov
| publisher = Center for Disease Control
| access-date = July 17, 2023
| quote =
| archive-date = 8 June 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230608133736/https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/acanthocephaliasis/index.html
| url-status = live
}}{{#tag:ref|There are no known aberrant human infections for Hexaspiron species.|group=lower-alpha}}]]
The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the definitive host and then ingested by an arthropod, the intermediate host. Although the intermediate hosts of Hexaspiron are and arthropod. When the acanthor molts, the second stage called the acanthella begins. This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth which is the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, differing from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor is passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. There may be paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction) for Hexaspiron.{{cite book
| last = Schmidt
| first = G.D.
| editor-last1 = Crompton
| editor-first1 = D.W.T.
| editor-last2 = Nickol
| editor-first2 = B.B.
| author-link =
| date = 1985
| title = Biology of the Acanthocephala
| chapter = Development and life cycles
| url = https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17218255.pdf
| location = Cambridge
| publisher = Cambridge Univ. Press
| pages = 273–305
| isbn =
| access-date = 16 July 2023
| archive-date = 22 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230722191034/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17218255.pdf
| url-status = live
}}
Hexaspiron parasitizes Heterosynodontis membranaceus. There are no reported cases of Hexaspiron infesting humans in the English language medical literature.{{cite journal |last1=Mathison |first1=BA |display-authors=etal |title=Human Acanthocephaliasis: a Thorn in the Side of Parasite Diagnostics |journal=J Clin Microbiol |date=2021 |volume=59 |issue=11 |page=e02691-20 |doi=10.1128/JCM.02691-20 |pmid=34076470 |url=https://doi.org/10.1128%2FJCM.02691-20|pmc=8525584 }}
Notes
{{Notelist}}