Nice images! Looks like two adult hookworms to me. I am not sure whether I see teeth (Ancylostoma) or cutting plates (Necator) on that first image, so I'll leave it just at "Hookworms". Based on images 2 and 3: I suspect it's a female and a male hookworm (image 3 gives a nice view of the bursa copulatrix - a specialized organ found in male hookworms, used for sensing and grasping during copulation).
Idzi has said it all. The pair is hookworms. I cannot clearly see whether the mouth has cutting plates or teeth, but the copulative bursa and posterior of the female are clues to the worms identification. The images may be sufficient for treatment but for academic purposes they pose a challenge. Would a stool parasitology culture help to identify the species involved? Florida Fan
Nice images! Looks like two adult hookworms to me.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure whether I see teeth (Ancylostoma) or cutting plates (Necator) on that first image, so I'll leave it just at "Hookworms".
Based on images 2 and 3: I suspect it's a female and a male hookworm (image 3 gives a nice view of the bursa copulatrix - a specialized organ found in male hookworms, used for sensing and grasping during copulation).
Idzi has said it all. The pair is hookworms. I cannot clearly see whether the mouth has cutting plates or teeth, but the copulative bursa and posterior of the female are clues to the worms identification. The images may be sufficient for treatment but for academic purposes they pose a challenge. Would a stool parasitology culture help to identify the species involved?
ReplyDeleteFlorida Fan
Hookworm, my guess between Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus would be Ancylostoma duodenale.
ReplyDelete/Patrik