Larval anatomy of the digestive and excretory systems of the pharyngeal bot fly, Pharyngomyia picta (Diptera: Oestridae)

Oestrid flies (Diptera: Oestridae) are obligate parasites of mammals during their larval stage and show anatomical adaptations for the infestation of host tissues. Unlike the species that parasitize domestic mammals, those oestrid species that infest wild mammal hosts remain poorly known. With the u...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martín Vega, Daniel|||0000-0002-5626-5441, Clark, Brett, Hall, Martin J. R.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/62974
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/62974
https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mve.12663
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Alimentary canal
Functional anatomy
Malpighian tubules
Myiasis
Parasitic adaptations
Salivary glands
Biología y Biomedicina/Biología
Derecho
Biology
Law
Descripción
Sumario:Oestrid flies (Diptera: Oestridae) are obligate parasites of mammals during their larval stage and show anatomical adaptations for the infestation of host tissues. Unlike the species that parasitize domestic mammals, those oestrid species that infest wild mammal hosts remain poorly known. With the use of x-ray micro-computed tomography, we describe for the first time the anatomy of the digestive and excretory systems of the second and third larval instars of Pharyngomyia picta (Meigen), a parasite of cervids that, like other species within the subfamily Oestrinae, causes nasopharyngeal myiasis. Both larval instars of P. picta show a pair of remarkably large salivary glands arranged in a characteristic ‘glandular band’, a convoluted and thickly uniform midgut and a greatly enlarged distal region of the anterior pair of Malpighian tubules. These anatomical features also have been described in other species within the subfamily Oestrinae, whereas they differ from the observations in other oestrid subfamilies. We discuss the potential functional significance of the anatomy of the digestive and excretory systems of Oestrinae larvae as specific adaptations to parasitize the nasopharyngeal cavities of mammal hosts.