''Neoandracantha'' is a genus of parasitic worms from the

phylum In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclatu ...

Acanthocephala. The genus was created in 2017 by Amin & Heckmann for the single species ''Neoandracantha peruensis''. The genus was differentiated from the closely related genus ''

Andracantha ''Andracantha'' is a genus of parasitic worms belonging to the family Polymorphidae. The species of this genus are found in Northern America. Species: *'' Andracantha baylisi'' *'' Andracantha clavata'' *'' Andracantha gravida'' *'' Andra ...

'' Schmidt, 1975 because members of ''Andracantha'' have anteriorly enlarged pear-shaped ''Corynosoma''-like trunks, only two fields of anterior trunk spines with occasional genital spines, and bilateral or tandem testes, and because proboscides of species of ''Andracantha'' have considerably fewer hooks that gradually decrease in size posteriorly. ''Neoandracantha peruensis'' is an

endoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

in the Polymorphidae family of

thorny-headed worm Acanthocephala (Greek , ', thorn + , ', head) is a phylum of parasitic worms known as acanthocephalans, thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms, characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to p ...

s. The larval stages (cystacanths) of ''Neoandracantha peruensis'' were described from the ghost crab ''

Ocypode gaudichaudii ''Ocypode gaudichaudii'', also known as the painted ghost crab or cart driver crab, is a species of crab found on Pacific beaches from El Salvador to Chile as well as on the Galápagos Islands. The species was first described by Henri Milne-Ed ...

'' collected from the Pacific coast of Peru. While it is uncommon to describe acanthocephalan taxa from immature stages, Amin & Heckmann (2017) claimed that the presence of clear-cut distinguishing features separating the present material from its nearest congeneric taxa, and the absence of adults, justified the erection of the new species ''N. peruensis''.

Morphology

Specimens of ''N. peruensis'' have a slender trunk with two anterior swellings, 3 separate fields of spines on the foretrunk swelling, and no genital spines on the hindtrunk. The proboscis is heavily armored with 21–22 longitudinal rows of 22 hooks each. Hook no. 14 is more robust ventrally than dorsally. Cystacanths of ''N. peruensis'' also have a long tubular hindtrunk and the males have diagonal testes in the midtrunk swelling. Parasite170077-fig 07-11 Neoandracantha peruensis (Acanthocephala).png, Scanning electron microscopy of ''Neoandracantha peruensis'' Parasite170077-fig 12-17 Neoandracantha peruensis (Acanthocephala)7.png, Scanning electron microscopy of ''Neoandracantha peruensis'' Parasite170077-fig 18-23 Neoandracantha peruensis (Acanthocephala).png, Scanning electron microscopy of ''Neoandracantha peruensis''

References

Polymorphidae Acanthocephala genera Endoparasites {{acanthocephalan-stub