{{Short description|Genus of parasitic worms}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{speciesbox | image = | image_caption = | genus = Promoniliformis | parent_authority = Dollfus and Golvan, 1963<ref name="Dollfus1963"/> | species = ovocristatus | authority = (Linstow, 1897) | synonyms = {{Species list |Echinorhynchus ovocristatus|Linstow, 1897 |Moniliformis ovocristatus|Petrotschenko, 1958 |Heteracanthorhynchus echinopsi|Horchner, 1962 }} }}
'''''Promoniliformis''''' is a monotypic genus of acanthocephalans (thorny-headed or spiny-headed parasitic worms) containing a single species, '''''Promoniliformis ovocristatus''''', that infests tenrecs in Madagascar. ''Promoniliformis'' is characterized by possessing two distinct kinds of proboscis hooks.<ref name="Ward1967">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.2307/3276638|jstor = 3276638|title = Acanthocephala of the Genus Moniliformis from Rodents of Egypt with the Description of a New Species from the Egyptian Spiny Mouse (''Acomys cahirinus'')|journal = The Journal of Parasitology|volume = 53|issue = 1|pages = 150–156|year = 1967|last1 = Ward|first1 = Helen L.|last2 = Nelson|first2 = Diane R.|pmid = 6066757}}</ref><ref name="Dollfus1963">{{cite journal |last1=Dollfus |first1=Robert-Ph. |last2=Golvan |first2=Yves-J. |date=1963 |title=Sur un singulier Métacanthocéphale parasite d'insectivores (Tenrecinae) de Madagascar et des Comores |journal=Annales de Parasitologie Humaine et Comparée |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=793–806 |doi=10.1051/parasite/1963385793 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== ''Promoniliformis ovocristatus'' was originally named ''Echinorhynchus ovocristatus'' by von Linstow in 1897 and renamed ''Moniliformis ovocristatus'' by Petrotschenko in 1958 and later ''Heteracanthorhynchus echinopsi'' by Hörchner in 1962. In 1963, Robert-Philippe Dollfus and J.L. Golvan introduced the present genus and species.<ref name="Amin2013">{{cite journal |last1=Amin |first1=Omar M. |title=Classification of the Acanthocephala |journal=Folia Parasitologica |date=September 19, 2013 |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=273–305 |doi=10.14411/fp.2013.031 |pmid=24261131 |doi-access=free }}</ref> ''P. ovocristatus'' is the type species.<ref>Biology of the Acanthocephala. edited by D. W. T. Crompton, Brent B. Nickol. page=34</ref> The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on ''Promoniliformis'' that would confirm its position as a unique genus in the family Moniliformidae.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=60528 | title = NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools. |first1=Conrad L |last1=Schoch |first2=Stacy |last2=Ciufo |first3=Mikhail |last3=Domrachev |first4=Carol L |last4=Hotton |first5=Sivakumar |last5=Kannan |first6=Rogneda |last6=Khovanskaya |first7=Detlef |last7=Leipe |first8=Richard |last8=Mcveigh |first9=Kathleen |last9=O’Neill |first10=Barbara |last10=Robbertse |first11=Shobha |last11=Sharma |first12=Vladimir |last12=Soussov |first13=John P |last13=Sullivan |first14=Lu |last14=Sun |first15=Seán |last15=Turner |first16=Ilene |last16=Karsch-Mizrachi | date = 2020 | journal = Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation | doi = 10.1093/database/baaa062 | pmid = 32761142 | pmc = 7408187 | access-date = April 1, 2024 | quote = }}</ref>
==Description== The largest female was 222 mm long and 1.1 to 1.5 mm wide whereas the largest male was much smaller at 65 mm long and 0.85 to 1 mm wide. There is no pseudosegmentation as seen in ''Moniliformis'' species. The proboscis is 0.550 mm long and 0.250 to 0.300 mm wide at the widest point. The proboscis contains 20 to 24 longitudinal rows of 8 to 10 hooks each with the 4 or 5 superior hooks being large and possessing well-developed roots whereas the 4 or 5 inferior hooks are small and have reduced roots. The receptacle measures 0.550 to 0.650 mm long with a maximum width of 0.125 mm. It is the type species.<ref name="Dollfus1963"/>
==Distribution== The distribution of ''P. ovocristatus'' is determined by that of its hosts. ''P. ovocristatus'' has been found in Madagascar.<ref name="Ribas2006"/>
==Hosts== [[File:Acanthocephala LifeCycle lg.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Diagram of the life cycle of Acanthocephala|Life cycle of Acanthocephala.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/acanthocephaliasis/index.html | title = Acanthocephaliasis | last = CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria | date = April 11, 2019 | website = www.cdc.gov | publisher = Centers for Disease Control | access-date = July 17, 2023 | quote = | archive-date = 8 June 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230608133736/https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/acanthocephaliasis/index.html | url-status = live }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|There are no known aberrant human infections for ''P. ovocristatus'' species.<ref name="Mathison2021"/>|group=lower-alpha}}]] The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the definitive host and then ingested by an arthropod, the intermediate host. Although the intermediate hosts of ''Promoniliformis'' are not known, without exception for the order Moniliformida, this intermediate host is an insect. When the acanthor molts, the second stage called the acanthella begins. This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth, the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, which differs from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor are passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. ''Promoniliformis'' has no known paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction).<ref>{{cite book | last = Schmidt | first = G.D. | editor-last1 = Crompton | editor-first1 = D.W.T. | editor-last2 = Nickol | editor-first2 = B.B. | author-link = | date = 1985 | title = Biology of the Acanthocephala | chapter = Development and life cycles | url = https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17218255.pdf | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge Univ. Press | pages = 273–305 | isbn = | access-date = 16 July 2023 | archive-date = 22 July 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230722191034/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17218255.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>
''Promoniliformis ovocristatus'' has been found parasitizing tenrecs,<ref name="Ribas2006">{{Cite book |doi = 10.1007/978-4-431-36025-4_5|chapter = Acanthocephalans|title = Micromammals and Macroparasites|pages = 81–89|year = 2006|last1 = Ribas|first1 = Alexis|last2 = Casanova|first2 = Juan Carlos|isbn = 978-4-431-36024-7}}</ref> including the tailless tenrec (''Tenrec ecaudatus'') and the lesser hedgehog tenrec (''Echinops telfairi''). There are no reported cases of ''P. ovocristatus'' infesting humans in the English language medical literature.<ref name="Mathison2021">{{cite journal |last1=Mathison |first1=BA |display-authors=etal |title=Human Acanthocephaliasis: a Thorn in the Side of Parasite Diagnostics |journal=J Clin Microbiol |date=2021 |volume=59 |issue=11 |page=e02691-20 |doi=10.1128/JCM.02691-20 |pmid=34076470 |url=https://doi.org/10.1128%2FJCM.02691-20|pmc=8525584 }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" widths="180" caption="Hosts for ''Promoniliformis ovocristatus''"> File:Kleiner-igeltanrek-a.jpg|alt=Lesser hedgehog tenrec in profile on sand|The lesser hedgehog tenrec is a host of ''P. ovocristatus'' File:Tanrek.jpg|alt=Tailless tenrec on the forest floor|Tailless tenrec is a host of ''P. ovocristatus'' </gallery>
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q18519264|from2=Q2783013}} Category:Acanthocephala genera Category:Archiacanthocephala Category:Monotypic protostome genera