Spirurida falls under the phylum Nematoda class Chromadorea and order Spirurida. They are characterized by their elongated, cylindrical bodies and unsegmented structure. Like all nematodes, they have neither a circulatory nor a respiratory system.
Some Spirurida, like the genusGongylonema, can cause disease in humans. One such disease is a skin infection with Spirurida larvae, called "creeping disease". Some species are known as eyeworms and infect the orbital cavity of animal hosts.
Systematics
The Camallanida are sometimes included herein as a suborder, and the Drilonematida are sometimes placed here as a superfamily. There are doubts about the internal systematics of the Spirurida, and some groups placed herein might belong to other spirurian or even secernentean lineages.[1]
The following superfamilies are at least provisionally placed in the Spirurida:
