Dendronucleata

Dendronucleata is a genus of small parasitic spiny-headed (or thorny-headed) worms. It is the only genus in the family Dendronucleatidae. This genus contains three species that are distributed globally, being collected in North America and Asia. The distinguishing features of this genus among Archiacanthocephalans is the presence of randomly distributed dendritically branched giant hypodermic nuclei. Dendronucleata parasitize freshwater fish and a salamander by attaching themselves in the intestines using their hook covered proboscis and adhesives secreted from cement glands.

==Taxonomy== Dendronucleatidae is a monotypic family created by Sokolovskaya in 1962 to accommodate the only genus, Dendronucleata, which contains two species, D. dogieli and D. petruschewskii. More recently, it is hypothesized that D. dogieli and D. petruschewskii might be conspecific. The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on Dendronucleata that would confirm its position as a unique order in the order Neoechinorhynchida.