Placentonema gigantissima

Placentonema gigantissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Nematoda
Class: Secernentea
Order: Spirurida
Superfamily: Habronematoidea
Family: Tetrameridae
Genus: Placentonema
Species: P. gigantissima
Binomial name
Placentonema gigantissima
(Gubanov, 1951)

Placentonema gigantissima is a giant nematode that parasitizes the placenta of the sperm whale. With a length of 8.4 metres (28 ft) and a diameter of 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in), it is potentially the largest nematode worm ever described. It was discovered in the 1950s around the Kuril islands[1]

References

  1. Gubanov, N. M. (1951-04-21). "Giant nematoda from the placenta of Cetacea; Placentonema gigantissima nov. gen., nov. sp." (PDF). Doklady Akademii nauk SSSR (in Russian). 77 (6). pp. 1123–1125. ISSN 0002-3264. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2013.
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