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Encyclopedia of Parasitology pp 1–2Cite as

Archigetes Species

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Name

Greek: archi = very old.

Archigetes species (Fig. 1) belong to the monozoic tapeworm order Caryophyllidea. Adults (0.5–3 cm long) are described worldwide. They live as intestinal parasites in fresh water fishes, but larvae are found in tubificid worms. Their body lacks internal or external segmentation and includes just one set of female and male sexual organs unlike all other Eucestoda. Worldwide about 41 genera of the Caryophyllidea are described with a total of around 150 families.

Fig. 1
figure 1

(a, b) Life cycles of Archigetes iowensis (a) and A. sieboldi (b) according to Machiewicz and others. 1 The monoecious sexually mature stages live in the intestine of many fish species (a) or in the body cavity of oligochaetes (= annelids; Limnodrilus, Tubifex). According to some authors, A. sieboldi should also develop fertile stages in fish hosts. 2 Unembryonated eggs enter the water with the feces (a) or after death of the oligochaete (b). 3Embryonation is completed after about 14–16 days...

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Further Reading

  • Olsen DD et al (2008) On the position of Archigetes and its bearing on the early evolution of the tapeworms. J Parasitol 94:898–904

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  • Oros M et al (2008) Phylogenetic relationships of the monozoic tapeworms (Eucestoda: Caryophyllidea) inferred from morphological characters. Syst Parasitol 70:1–14

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Zoomorphologie, Zellbiologie und Parasitologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

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  1. Heinz Mehlhorn
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Correspondence to Heinz Mehlhorn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoomorphology and Parasitology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

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Mehlhorn, H. (2015). Archigetes Species. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_259-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_259-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27769-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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