Guinea+Worm;+Dracunculus+insignis

Phylum: Nematoda Class: Secernentea
 * Guinea Worm;** //Dracunculus insignis[[image:catA2.jpg align="right"]]//

depending on the diet of their host.
 * __Size:__** Females- 28 cm, Males- 1.5-4 cm
 * __Location:__** North America
 * __Habitat:__** Guinea worms are found only in certain weeks of the year
 * __Life Cycle:__** Females get underneath the skin of legs and cause a blister. This eventually ruptures and causes an ulcer. The larvae leave throughout the ulcer when it is immersed in water. Larvae are then ingested by a small water crustacean and develop until they are infective to their host. After being released into the digestive track of their host, they penetrate the intestine and migrate through the body cavity. After production of the larvae, the worms die and are absorbed by the host.


 * __Interesting Facts:__**
 * Dracunculiasis is a disease caused by a different subspecies of Guinea Worms and occurs in Africa.
 * This happens when you drink standing water.
 * //D. insignis// infects dogs and wild carnivores.
 * **__Males & Females:__** Females are longer and are very slender; They also appear to be a whitish color. Males are much shorter and tend to be darker in color. Female worms can be found between the skin and the muscle on the thorax, abdomen, groin, and legs of hosts. Males tend to be found underneath the skin as well, but are rarely found in the thorax, abdomen, and groin.
 * __Human Impact:__** Humans are not able to contract //D. insignis//, so they are not a threat to public health.
 * __Human Impact:__** Humans are not able to contract //D. insignis//, so they are not a threat to public health.



__I____nternet Information Resouces:__ __[]__ __[]__ __[]__ __Internet Picture Resources:__ [|flickr.com] [|ocw.jhsph.edu] [|parasitology.cvm.ncsu.edu]
 * __Zookeeper Taylor Cebuly:__**