Onchocercidae

Onchocerca volvulus, from here.

Belongs within: Spiruromorpha.

The Onchocercidae are a group of parasitic nematodes whose life cycles alternate between insect and tetrapod hosts. The early larval stages lack spines and accumulate in host tissues, and the adults have a smooth and rounded head.

<==Onchocercidae
    |--Litomosoides L07
    |    |--L. oxymycteri L07
    |    `--L. sigmodontis PB07 [incl. L. carinii J02]
    `--Onchocerca PB07
         |--O. armillata G02
         |--O. cervicalis B02
         |--O. gutturosa B02
         |--O. lienalis L02
         |--O. ochengi B02
         `--O. volvulus PB07

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B02] Behm, C. A. 2002. Metabolism. In: Lee, D. L. (ed.) The Biology of Nematodes pp. 261–290. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[G02] Gibbons, L. M. 2002. General organisation. In: Lee, D. L. (ed.) The Biology of Nematodes pp. 31–59. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[J02] Justine, J.-L. 2002. Male and female gametes and fertilisation. In: Lee, D. L. (ed.) The Biology of Nematodes pp. 73–119. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[L07] Lareschi, M. 2007. Seasonal occurrence of ectoparasites associated with the water rat Scapteromys aquaticus (Muridae, Sigmodontinae) from Punta Lara, Argentina. In: Morales-Malacara, J. B., V. M. Behan-Pelletier, E. Ueckermann, T. M. Pérez, E. G. Estrada-Venegas & M. Badii (eds) Acarology XI: Proceedings of the International Congres, pp. 233–240. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.

[L02] Lee, D. L. 2002. Cuticle, moulting and exsheathment. In: Lee, D. L. (ed.) The Biology of Nematodes pp. 171–209. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[PB07] Philippe, H., H. Brinkmann, P. Martinez, M. Riutort & J. Baguña. 2007. Acoel flatworms are not Platyhelminthes: evidence from phylogenomics. PloS One 2 (8): e717.