Spirurida | |
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Dirofilaria immitis larva Magnification 400X |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Nematoda |
Class: | Secernentea |
Subclass: | Spiruria |
Order: | Spirurida |
Superfamilies | |
10, but see text |
10, but see text
Spirurida is an order of spirurian nematodes. Like all nematodes, they have neither a circulatory nor a respiratory system.
Some Spirurida, like the genus Gongylonema, can cause disease in humans. One such disease is a skin infection with Spirurida larvae, called "creeping disease".
The Camallanida are sometimes included herein as a suborder, and the Drilonematida are sometimes placed here as a superfamily. There are doubts about the internal systematics of the Spirurida, and some groups placed herein might belong to other spirurian or even secernentean lineages.
The following superfamilies are at least provisionally placed in the Spirurida: