NEIHPID

Gnathostoma doloresi (Tubangui Tubangui) Back

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Taxonomy

Nematoda »
        SECERNENTEA »
              Gnathostomatidae Railliet, 1895 »
                     Gnathostominae (Railliet, 1895) Baylis et Lane, 1920 »
                            Gnathostoma Owen, 1836 »
                                    Gnathostoma doloresi, Tubangui 1925

Host

Sus (scrofa domestica)

Habitat

Gastric mucosa

Locality

Shillong (Meghalaya)

Description

General

Body stout, cuticle of posterior two-thirds of body considerably inflated whereby anterior third appearing relatively slender. Pair of blunt cervical papillae present. Lips large, trilobed, having cuticle of their inner surfaces thickened and raised into longitudinal tooth-like ridges interlocking with those of opposite lip. Globular cephalic bulb present following lips; latter separated body, armed with eight to nine rows of backwardly directed spines (all rows not evident in one view). Entire surface of body provided with numerous transverse rows of backwardly directed cuticular spines; latter in anterior rows board, short, with several unequal teeth; posteriorly spines slender, each bearing three sharp teeth-middle tooth conspicuously longer than lateral two; succeedingly, spines becoming gradually smaller, with two teeth each; posterior two-thirds of body densely covered with single-pointed spines, which become smaller posteriorly.Â

Male

Body 26.0-28.0 mm in length, 1.2-2.0 mm in maximum width. Tail with papillae like termination. Cuticle of caudal end much inflated dorsally and ventrally. Four pairs of large stout lateral caudal papillae present; first pair pre-anal, rest three pairs post-anal; between first and second, second and third pairs, from posterior end present two pairs of smaller sub-ventral papillae. Spicules unequal, stout, curved, tapering evenly from root to tip.

Female

Body 30.0-44.0 mm in length, 2.20-4.50 mm in maximum width. Tail blunt, surrounded by large cuticular inflation. Vulva projecting slightly above body surface, opening behind middle of body. Vagina muscular, long, running forward from vulva, extending as far as posterior end of oesophagus, turning posteriorly again. Eggs oval, with wart-like caps at each pole, their surface finely granulated, 0.07- 0.08 x 0.03-0.04 mm.Â

Remarks

This species was originally described by Tubangui (1925) on the basis of female worms collected from domestic pigs in the Philippines. Later on, Maplestone,(1930) provided the description of both sexes from parasites collected from slaughtered pigs in Calcutta.

There are three species of Gnathostoma reported in India: G. spinigerum Owen, (1836) from carnivores and G. hispidum Fedchenco (1872 )and G. doloresi Tubangui, (1925) from domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) (Baylis, 1939). These species are distinguishable from one another by reference to the distribution of body spines and/or the shape of the eggs. While in G. spinigerum only the anterior two-thirds of the body has spination, in the other two species the spines cover the whole body; in G. hispidum the eggs are with wart-like cap only at one pole, and not on both as in G. doloresi.

Helminthological collections record

NEHU/Z - NM/2

References

Tubangui, M. A. (1925). Metazoan parasites of Philippine domesticated animals. Philippine Journal of Sciences. 28:pp 11-37.

Maplestone, P.A. (1930). Nematode parasites of pigs in Bengal. Records of Indian Museum, Calcutta. 32:pp 77-105.

Baylis, H. A. (1939) The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Nematoda Vol. II (Filarioidea, Dioctophymoidea and Trichinelloidea). Originally published by Taylor and Francis, London (reprinted edition: Today