''Angiostoma carettae'' is the first species of

nematode 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 (h ...

s known to inhabit

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s. Its

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

comes from its presence in

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...

s (''Caretta caretta''). Each of the loggerheads found to contain ''Angiostoma carettae'' had other debilitating disorders. For this reason, it is hard to pinpoint the exact effect of the nematodes. Even so, the nematodes caused histologic lesions in the

respiratory tract The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of conducting air to the alveoli for the purposes of gas exchange in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respirato ...

. Ingestion of pelagic mollusks has been hypothesized as the mode of ''A. carettae'' ingestion, but has not been proven.

References

Angiostomatidae Nematodes described in 2006 {{Secernentea-stub