Acanthocephala (Spiny-headed Worms or Thorny-headed Worms)
Class: Archiacanthocephala
Order: Oligacanthorhynchida
Family: Oligacanthorhynchidae
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Pachysentis gethi | (Machado-Filho, 1950) | Geth's spiny-headed worm | (rediscovered) | Brazil (& Mexico?) | Rediscovered? | Access |
Class: Eoacanthocephala
–No subordinate taxa
Class: Palaeacanthocephala
–No subordinate taxa
Appendix 1: Possible future additions to this list
The species Acanthogyrus barmeshoori Amin et al., 2013 was described from specimens collected from the host fish Aphanius farsicus (Farsi tooth-carp) during July 2006-June 2007. The host species is now feared extinct in the wild (Esmaeili & Freyhof, 2014).
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Detailed Presentation
Class: Archiacanthocephala
Order: Apororhynchida (1 family: Apororhynchidae; 1 genus: Apororhynchus; 7 living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Gigantorhynchida (1 family: Giganthorhynchidae; 2 genera: Gigantorhynchus, Mediorhynchus; 64 living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Moniliformida (1 family: Moniliformidae; 3 genera: Australiformis, Moniliformis, Promoniliformis; 20 living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Oligacanthorhynchida (1 family; 12 genera; 96 living species)
Family: Oligacanthorhynchidae
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Pachysentis gethi | (Machado-Filho, 1950) | Geth's spiny-headed worm | (rediscovered) | Brazil (& Mexico?) | Rediscovered? | Access |
Class: Eoacanthocephala
Order: Gyracanthocephala (1 family: Quadrigyridae; 9 genera; many living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Neoechinorhynchida (3 families: Dendronucleatidae, Neoechinorhynchidae, Tenuisentidae; 20 genera; many living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Polyacanthorhynchida (1 family: Polyacanthorhynchidae; 1 genus: Polyacanthorhynchus; 4 living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Class: Palaeacanthocephala
Order: Echinorhynchida (13 families; many genera; many living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Heteramorphida (1 family: Pyrirhynchidae; 1 genus: Pyrirhynchus; 1 living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Polymorphida (3 families: Centrorhynchidae, Plagiorhynchidae, Polymorphidae; 23 genera; many living species)
–No subordinate taxa
Statistics
Based upon c.1500 described recent species as of 2021, with around 15 new species described every year (Monks, 2021). Many more species await discovery and description, so the figures given below are subject to revision.
| Conservation status | Number of species |
| Recently extinct | 0 (0%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) |
| Rediscovered | 0 (0%) |
| Extinct in the wild | 0 (0%) |
| Erroneously listed | 0 (0%) |
| Uncertain status | 1 (0.066%) |
| Invalid | 0 (not applicable) |