The Ascarididae are a family of the large intestinal
roundworms
The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (hel ...
. Members of the family are
intestinal parasites
An intestinal parasite infection is a condition in which a parasite infects the gastro-intestinal tract of humans and other animals. Such parasites can live anywhere in the body, but most prefer the intestinal wall.
Routes of exposure and infe ...
, infecting all
classes of
vertebrate
Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain.
The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
s. It includes a number of
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
,
[Anderson RC (2000)]
''Nematode Parasites of Vertebrates. Their Development and Transmission, 2nd ed.''
CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK, pp. 245-315. the most well known of which are:
*''
Amplicaecum''
*''
Angusticaecum''
*''
Ascaris''
*†''
Ascarites'' (fossil)
[Poinar Jr, G. and Boucot, A. J. (2006) Evidence of intestinal parasites of dinosaurs. ''Parasitology'', 133: 245-249.]
*''
Baylisascaris''
*''
Crossophorus''
*''
Dujardinascaris''
*''
Hexametra''
*''
Lagochilascaris''
*''
Ophidascaris''
*''
Parascaris''
*''
Polydelphis''
*''
Seuratascaris''
[ ]
*''
Toxascaris''
*''
Toxocara''
*''
Travassoascaris''
''
Ascaris lumbricoides
''Ascaris lumbricoides'' is a large parasitic worm, parasitic Nematoda, roundworm of the genus ''Ascaris.'' It is the most common parasitic worm in humans. An estimated 807 million–1.2 billion people are infected with ''Ascaris lumbricoides'' ...
'' is the main ascarid parasite of humans, causing
ascariasis
Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm ''Ascaris lumbricoides''. Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. Symptoms increase with the number of worms present and may in ...
.
References
External links
ZipcodeZooUniprot TaxonomyBioLibTAMUThe Taxonomicon
Parasitic nematodes of vertebrates
Nematode families
Ascaridomorpha
{{Parasitic animal-stub