Moniliformidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of parasitic spiny-headed (or thorny-headed) worms. It is the only family in the Moniliformida

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

and contains three

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 ...

: ''Australiformis'' containing a single species, ''Moniliformis'' containing eighteen species and ''Promoniliformis'' containing a single species. Genetic analysis have determined that the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

despite being distributed globally. These worms primarily parasitize mammals, including humans in the case of ''

Moniliformis moniliformis ''Moniliformis moniliformis'' is a parasite of the Acanthocephala phylum in the family Moniliformidae. The adult worms are usually found in intestines of rodents or carnivores such as cats and dogs. The species can also infest humans, though thi ...

'', and occasionally birds by attaching themselves into the intestinal wall using their hook-covered

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

. The intermediate hosts are mostly

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

es. The distinguishing features of this order among archiacanthocephalans is the presence of a cylindrical proboscis with long rows of hooks with posteriorly directed roots and proboscis retractor muscles that pierce both the posterior and ventral end or just posterior end of the receptacle. Infestation with Monoliformida species can cause moniliformiasis, an intestinal condition characterized as causing

lesions A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...

, intestinal distension,

perforated ulcer A perforated ulcer is a condition in which an untreated ulcer has burned through the mucosal wall in a segment of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., the stomach or colon) allowing gastric contents to leak into the abdominal cavity. Signs and symp ...

enteritis Enteritis is inflammation of the small intestine. It is most commonly caused by food or drink contaminated with pathogenic microbes,Dugdale, David C., IIII, and George F Longretc"Enteritis" MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, 18 October 2008. Acces ...

gastritis Gastritis is the inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Othe ...

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number. Although hypertro ...

goblet cell Goblet cells are simple columnar epithelial cells that secrete gel-forming mucins, like mucin 2 in the lower gastrointestinal tract, and mucin 5AC in the respiratory tract. The goblet cells mainly use the merocrine method of secretion, secre ...

hyperplasia Hyperplasia (from ancient Greek ὑπέρ ''huper'' 'over' + πλάσις ''plasis'' 'formation'), or hypergenesis, is an enlargement of an organ or tissue caused by an increase in the amount of Tissue (biology), organic tissue that results from ...

, and blockages.

Taxonomy and description

Species of the family Moniliformidae are usually pseudosegmented and have a cylindrical proboscis with longitudinal rows of hooks that have posteriorly directed roots. Moniliformidae are further characterized by the presence of a simple, double-walled proboscis receptacle with the outer wall having spirally aligned muscle fibers (with the exception of ''Australiformis''), brain at posterior end of receptacle, and dorsal and ventral lacunar canals. The proboscis retractor muscles pierce both the posterior and ventral end or just posterior end of the receptacle. The cerebral ganglion is in the mid to posterior region, and the lemnisci are long and flat and not bound to the body wall. These worms also lack protonephridia and males have eight cement glands, each with a giant nucleus, which are used to temporarily close the posterior end of the female after copulation. Genetic analysis has been conducted on four species: ''Moniliformis moniliformis'', ''M. saudi'', ''M. cryptosaudi'' and ''M. kalahariensis''. Based on these results, Moniliformidae has been determined to be

Genera

There are three genera and twenty living species in the order Moniliformida.

''Australiformis''

''Australiformis'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus that infest

marsupials Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a ...

in Australia and New Guinea. It was described by Schmidt and Edmonds in 1989. Its body consists of a

armed with hooks which it uses to pierce and hold the gut wall of its host, and a long trunk. It contains a single species, ''Australiformis semoni''. This genus resembles species in the genus '' Moniliformis'' but is characterized by a lack of spiral muscles in the outer wall of the proboscis receptacle. The proboscis is armed with 12 rows of 13 to 15 hooks which are used to attach themselves to the small or large intestines of the host. The female worms range from 95 to 197 millimetres, long virtually all of which is the trunk, and 1.75 to 3.5 millimetres wide. There is pronounced

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in this species as females are around twice the size of the males whose trunks range from 46 to 80 millimetres long and 2 millimetres wide. Infestation of marsupials by ''A. semoni'' may cause debilitating inflammation of the stomach (

) with granulomatous ulcers.

''Moniliformis''

The genus ''Moniliformis'' Travassos, 1915 contains eighteen species. Description of the genus is the same as the family Moniliformidae with the exception of possessing spiral muscles in the outer wall of the proboscis receptacle and a single distinct kind of proboscis hooks.

''Promoniliformis''

The genus ''Promoniliformis'' Dollfus and Golvan, 1963 is characterized by possessing two distinct kinds of proboscis hooks. There is only one species in this genus. It contains a single species ''P. ovocristatus''.

Hosts

''Moniliformidae'' species are found in the intestines parasitizing mammals and occasionally birds. Intermediate hosts are mostly cockroaches but also other insect groups. Infestation can cause moniliformiasis, which is characterized as

in the intestines, intestinal distension,

, and occlusions of the intestinal tract in the gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''). File:Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) 2, Vic, jjron, 09.01.2013.jpg, alt=Southern Brown Bandicoot on the ground in a forest, The Southern brown bandicoot is a host for ''Australiformis semoni'' File:Common spiny mouse.JPG, alt=A Cairo spiny mouse on dirt, The Cairo spiny mouse is a host of ''Moniliformis acomysi'' File:Four-toes-jerboa.jpg, alt=A Four-toed jerboa on a kitchen table with people in the background, The four-toed jerboa is a host of ''Moniliformis aegyptiacus'' File:Atelerix algirus.jpg, alt=A North African hedgehog curled up on hay, The

North African hedgehog The North African hedgehog (''Atelerix algirus'') or Algerian hedgehog, is a mammal species in the family Erinaceidae native to Algeria, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia. Little is known about this hedgehog, even though the most common b ...

is a host of ''Moniliformis aegyptiacus'' File:Lisztaffe - Cottontop Tamarin - Saguinus oedipus.jpg, alt=A cotton-top tamarin on a tree stump in the jungle, The

cotton-top tamarins The cotton-top tamarin (''Saguinus oedipus'') is a small New World monkey weighing less than . This New World monkey can live up to 24 years, but most of them die by 13 years. One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily recog ...

is a host of ''Moniliformis clarki'' File:Wilhelma Kalong-Flughund Pteropus vampyrus 0513.jpg, alt=A large flying fox hanging upsidedown on a branch, The large flying fox is a host of ''Moniliformis convolutus'' File:Hemiechinus auritus; Baikonur 09.jpg, alt=Long-eared hedgehog on a wood floor infront of a wood door, The long-eared hedgehog is a host of ''Moniliformis cryptosaudi'' File:Haarigel (Echinosorex gymnura).jpg, alt=A stuffed moonrat on display, The moonrat is a host of ''Moniliformis echinosorexi'' File:Myresluger2.jpg, alt=A giant anteater, The

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous mammal native to Central America, Central and South America. It is the largest of the four living species of anteaters, which are classified with sloths in the or ...

is a host of ''Moniliformis monoechinus'' File:Desert Hedgehog.JPG, alt=A Desert hedgehog under branches, The desert hedgehog is a host of ''Moniliformis saudi'' File:Rattus norvegicus -Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage, England-8.jpg, alt=A brown rat on the ground, The

brown rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest Muroidea, muroids, it is a brown or grey ...

is a host of ''M. siciliensis'' and ''Moniliformis travassosi'' File:Eliomys quercinus01.jpg, alt=A Garden dormouse on a stone, The garden dormouse is a host of ''M. siciliensis'' File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10564 The black rat Rattus rattus.jpg, alt=A black rat on the ground, The

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

is a host of ''Moniliformis spiralis'' File:Bornean Tarsier (Cephalopachus bancanus borneanus) (8067063777).jpg, alt=Close-up of the face of Horsfield's tarsier on a branch, The Horsfield's tarsier is a host of ''Moniliformis tarsii'' File:Tanrek.jpg, alt=A Tailless tenrec sitting, ''Promoniliformis ovocristatus'' is a parasite of the tailless tenrec File:Kleiner-igeltanrek-a.jpg, alt=A Lesser hedgehog tenrec in front of rocks, ''Promoniliformis ovocristatus'' is a parasite of the lesser hedgehog tenrec

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3449713 Acanthocephala families Archiacanthocephala