Haemonchus contortus
Haemonchus contortus
Taxonomy
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Nematoda
- Class Secernentea
- Order Strongylida
- Superfamily Trichostrongyloidea
- Family Trichostrongylidae
- Genus Haemonchus
Final host
Ruminants
Morphology
Adults are easily identified because of their location in the abomasum and their large size (≈ 2-3 cm) In both sexes there are cervical papillae and a tiny lancet inside the small buccal cavity The female usually has a prominent vulval flap and in fresh specimens, the white ovaries wind spirally around the blood-filled intestine producing a 'barber's pole' appearance The male has a well-developed bursa with large lateral lobes and an small asymmetrical dorsal lobe Eggs (≈ 70-95 × 40-50 µm) are of strongyloid type, with barrel-shaped side walls, a thin and smooth shell and contain numerous blastomeres which nearly fill the entire volume when laid L3 are medium-sized tailed and have 16 intestinal cells
Cycle
Direct
Location
Abomasum
Feeding
Haematophagous
Diagnostic
Eggs
Transmission
L3