Ancylostoma caninum
Ancylostoma caninum
Taxonomy
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Nematoda
- Class Secernentea
- Order Strongylida
- Superfamily Ancylostomatoidea
- Family Ancylostomatidae
- Genus Ancylostoma
Final host
Dog, fox, wild canids, occasionally human
Morphology
Adults: ≈ 1-3 cm, reddish worms (haematophagous) with the anterior end bent dorsally (`hook worms´) The well-developed buccal capsule is devoid of leaf crowns but is armed with a pair of chitinous cutting plates on its ventrolateral edge and three pairs of marginal teeth The male bursa is well developed Eggs (≈ 56-75 by 34-47 µm) are typically 'strongylate', barrel-shaped side walls and a thin smooth shell and contain two to eight blastomeres when passed in faeces L3 are long-tailed
Cycle
Direct (with intra-organic larval migration)
Location
Small intestine
Feeding
Haematophagous and histophagous
Diagnostic
Eggs
Transmission
L3 (ingestion or skin penetration)
