NEIHPID

Mecistocirrus digitatus (Railliet et Henry Railliet et Henry) Linstow 1906 Back

---

Taxonomy

Nematoda »
        SECERNENTEA »
              Trichostrongylidae (Leiper, 1908) Leiper, 1911 »
                     Haemonchinae (Skrhjabin et Schulz, 1937) Skrjabin et Schulz, 1952 »
                            Mecistocirrus Railliet et Henry, 1912 »
                                    Mecistocirrus digitatus (Linstow 1906), Railliet et Henry 1912

Synonyms

(Strongylus digitatus Linstow, 1906; M. tagumai Morishita, 1922; Nematodirus digitatus Railliet et Henry, 1909; N. gibsoni Railliet et Henry, 1912)

Host

Bos (indicus)

Habitat

Abomasum

Locality

Shillong (Meghalaya), Riangdo (Meghalaya), Nongstoin (Meghalaya), Jowai (Meghalaya), Markasa (Meghalaya)

Description

General 

Worms red to dark reddish in colour; body markedly attenuated, tapered anteriorly. Slight vesicular swelling present at anterior end. Cervical papillae quite conspicuous, spine like, present laterally on each side of body after excretory pore. Mouth sub-terminal, slightly inclined dorsally. Body cuticle with fine transverse striations, bearing about thirty longitudinal ridges. Buccal capsule very small, possessing large, lancet-like curved tooth. Oesophagus club shaped. Nerve ring at about anterior quarter of oesophagus. 

Male

Body 17.0-19.0 mm in length, 0.36-0.43 mm in maximum width. Bursa well developed comprising two lateral, one small but distinct symmetrical dorsal lobes; ventro-lateral ray short, slender, widely divergent from latero-ventral ray; latter and antero-lateral rays close together except at tips, conspicuously longer than other rays; remaining rays, all slender; externo-dorsal arising separately from dorsal ray; latter short, bifurcated distally, each branch ending in three terminal papillae. One pair of conspicuous pre-bursal papillae present. Spicules very long, slender, united for almost whole of their length, tip of spicule enclosed in spicular membrane with prominent funnel-shaped head. A structure resembling gubernaculum present.

Female 

More robust, longer in size than males, body 16.0-40.0 mm long, 0.36-0.54 mm in maximum width.. Tail conical, without terminal spine. Vulva near posterior extremity, close to anus, with chitinoid lips. Vagina very long, running anteriorly from vulva. Ovaries wound spirally around intestine; ovejectors opposed. Posterior branch of uterus immediately turning forward to run parallel with anterior branch, filled with numerous eggs. Eggs relatively large, oval, thin shelled, segmented, 0.09-0.11 x 0.05-0.059 mm. 

Remarks

This species was originally described by Linstow (1906) from stomach of zebu (Bos indicus) at Colombo, Ceylon. In India, it was first recorded by Sheather (1919) from calves. The present observations tally closely with the description provided by Baylis (1936a) except for the gubernaculum which was reported to be absent by earlier workers. Meghalaya forms a new locality record for this species.

Helminthological collections record

NEHU/Z - NM/26

References

Linstow, O. von. (1906) Helminthes from the collection of the Colombo Museum, Spolia Zeylanica. 3: pp 163-188.

Baylis, H.A. (1936a) The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Nematoda Vol. I (Ascaroidea and Strongyloidea). Originally published by Taylor and Francis, London (reprinted edition : Today

Sheather, A. L. (1919). A new nematode causing parasitic gastritis in calves. Agricultural Research Institute Pusa Bulletin. 86:pp 1-5.