Worm rediscovered after half a century
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Adding to the bio index of the Deccan plateau ahead of the international conference on biological diversity scheduled to start next week, a team of researchers has rediscovered a tiny nematode worm, almost 50 years after it was first discovered, in the belly of a fish caught from the Hussainsagar in the city. The nematode worm belonging to the genus Philometra was named after Hyderabad when it was discovered in 1963 by Dr Suraiya Rasheed, who is now the director of the Laboratory of Viral Oncology and AIDS Research, University of South California, USA.
After nearly half a century, researchers from Nanded have rediscovered the nematode, scientifically called Philometra hyderabadensis. The rediscovery of the nematode, which lives in fresh water fishes, is taxonomically significant, as it will provide clues to parasitic diseases in commercially important fish varieties. Incidentally, so far only two specimens of Philometra hyderabadensis have been documented. The specimen found in 1963 is preserved in the Natural History Museum, London.
Both the specimens scientifically studied so far are female. The male specimen of Philometra hyderabadensis is not known. Researchers, particularly taxonomists, are now searching for the male of this species. Dr S.P. Chavan of the department of zoology, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, was part of the team that had rediscovered the worm. Dr F. Moravec of the Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was the other team member. They found the specimen from Purna river and Yeldari reservoir in Parbhani district.
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