Haycocknema perplexum n. g., n. sp. (Nematoda: Robertdollfusidae): an intramyofibre parasite in man

Abstract

Haycocknema perplexum n. g., n. sp. (Nematoda: Robertdollfusidae) is described from a man in Tasmania, Australia. Adult male and female nematodes and larvae were recovered from myofibres following biopsy of the right vastus lateralis muscle and were associated with a polymyositis. H. perplexum is distinguished from all other genera of the Muspiceoidea by the presence of a large amorphous "cell" supporting a granule-filled, flask- or gourd-shaped reservoir in the rectal region of mature and gravid female nematodes, often containing one or more large, refractile, thick-rimmed "globules" on the external surface of the reservoir, by the small number of ova/eggs/larvae developing in each uterus, by the minute, weakly-sclerotised, almost tubular spicule, by the presence of a pair of ampulla-shaped glands posteriorly and by the presence of lateral bacillary bands comprised of a single row of pore cells spaced irregularly and extending posteriorly to the region of the vulva in immature females.