:''Elaeophora is also a synonym for the plant genus

Plukenetia ''Plukenetia'' is a genus of plant of the family Euphorbiaceae. It is widespread in tropical regions of Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, ...

.'' ''Elaeophora'' is a genus of

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

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 which live attached to the interior surfaces of major arteries, veins and/or heart chambers in various large mammal hosts. Infestation with ''Elaeophora'' species is referred to as elaeophorosis. The species of ''Elaeophora'' have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Despite the fact that they produce

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

s in the arteries and heart of their hosts which measure up to 2 cm in diameter, overt clinical symptoms of infestation are seldom reported, with the notable exception of ''E. schneideri'' infestation in

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

, and

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

Taxonomy

The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''Elaeophora poeli'' was first described as ''Filaria poeli'' in 1879. In 1912, the genus ''Elaeophora'' was created to distinguish this species from the other species of the genus ''

Filaria ''Filaria'' is a genus of nematodes belonging to the family Filariidae. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution. Species: *'' Filaria acutiuscula'' *'' Filaria bufonis'' *''Filaria loliginis ''Filaria'' is a genus of nematodes belonging ...

''. ''Elaeophora'' was made the senior

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of the

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 ...

''Alcefilaria'' and ''Cordophilus'' in 1976.

Species

*'' Elaeophora abramovi'' (Oshmarin & Belous, 1951) Anderson & Bain, 1976 found in

Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

(''Alces alces'') in Russia * '' Elaeophora bohmi'' Supperer, 1953 found in

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s in Austria and Iran; * '' Elaeophora elaphi'' Hernandez-Rodriguez, Martinez-Gomez & Gutierrez-Palomino, 1986 found in

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

(''Cervus elaphus'') in Spain; * '' Elaeophora linglingense'' Cheng, 1982 originally isolated from the aortic wall of cattle in Hunan Province, China.Cheng, Y.D. (1982) "A survey of parasitic nematodes in domestic animals and poultry from Lingling area, Hunan Province, with description of two new species." ''Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica'' 7(1):20-26. (not seen) No other studies of this species have been published. * '' Elaeophora poeli'' (Vryburg 1879) Railliet and Henry 1912 found in various

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

in Asia and Africa; * '' Elaeophora sagitta'' (Linstow, 1907) Anderson & Bain, 1976 found in various

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

(''Tragelaphus'' sp.), eland, and

African Forest Buffalo The African forest buffalo (''Syncerus caffer nanus''), also known as the dwarf buffalo or the Congo buffalo, is the smallest subspecies of the African buffalo. It is related to the Cape buffalo (''Syncerus caffer caffer''), the Sudan buffalo ...

in Africa; * ''

Elaeophora schneideri ''Elaeophora schneideri'' (arterial worm; carotid worm; cause of elaeophorosis, aka "filarial dermatitis" or "sorehead" in sheep; or "clear-eyed" blindness in elk) is a nematode which infests several mammalian hosts in North America. It is transm ...

'' Wehr & Dikmans, 1935 found in various

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, and

in North America.

General life cycle

Detailed life cycle studies have been reported for only one species of ''Elaeophora'' so far - ''E. schneideri''. Microfilariae (not eggs) are shed by the adult female from her attachment site inside the lumen of the

carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to: * Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery * External carotid artery, an artery on each side of ...

of the

definitive host In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include ...

. The microfilariae are carried through the blood stream and become lodged in the small

capillaries A capillary is a small blood vessel, from 5 to 10 micrometres in diameter, and is part of the microcirculation system. Capillaries are microvessels and the smallest blood vessels in the body. They are composed of only the tunica intima (the in ...

of the skin in the head and facial areas. Blood-feeding horse flies ingest the microfilariae, which develop into infective larvae in the fly. The infective larvae enter a new definitive (mammal) host through the bite wound when the fly feeds again. The infective larvae migrate to secondary

arterial An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

sites, where they mature before migrating to the

. In the carotid artery, they mature into adults and reproduce sexually to produce microfilariae. It is assumed that the life cycles of other species of ''Elaeophora'' follow this general pattern.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5353120 Spirurida Parasitic nematodes of mammals Rhabditida genera