Nematodirus battus Thread-necked Trichstrongyles		Contents		Rev 10/20/2025
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Nematodirus menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Molineidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

 Classification

Phylum:  Nematoda
Class:    Chromadorea
Order:    Rhabditida 

Superfamily:  Molinieoidea

Family:  Molineidae

Subfamily: Nematodirinae

Nematodirus battus Crofton & Thomas. 1951

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Slender,

• Cuticle with about 18 longitudinal striations.

• Mouth opening circular with a serrated, denticulate, circularized crown and a triangular dorsal tooth

Males:

• Only one set of parallel rays in each bursal lobe.
• Length 10-13 mm
• Spicules 850-950 umg with heart-shaped tips and short fused section.

Females:

• 17-22 mm long
• Conical pointed tail
• Rggs large 95-190 um with a pitted surface.

Ref Snyder et al., 2020

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Distribution:

Cosmopolitan in the colon of sheep, goats, cattle and deer worldwide.

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Economic Importance:

Important and pathogenic parasite of sheep in temperate regions.

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Hosts:

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Feeding:

Parasite of the small intestine.

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Life Cycle:

Nematodirus battus eggs have a chilling requirement prior to hatching. Eggs  hatcht under warmer conditions after chilling. The chilling requirement results in a mass hatch of eggs in the spring and the limitation to a single generation per year.

A simple, direct life-cycle without the need for an intermediate host.  Infective third-stage larvae develop within the egg,  (Snyder et al., 2020; Van Dijk and Thomas, 2008).

Eggs of N. battus developed at temperatures between 11. 5 and 27 C, but development at the lower end of this range was more successful. Embryonated eggs did not hatch below 11 C or above 17 C.  In previous studies, a chilling period was required before hatching occurred but in this study a substantial proportions of eggs hatched without the need for chilling. Storage of eggs at 25 C did not decrease hatch when eggs were returned to temperatures below 17 C.

Thus, there appears to be an upper threshold for hatching in this species but higher temperatures did not suppress egg survival (Van Dijk and Thomas, 2008).The chilling requirtement results in mass egg hatching in the spring and only ine generation per year. The prepatent period is 15 days (Snyder et al., 2020).

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Damage:

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Management:

Avoidance: Attempting to evade infection by avoiding grazing of young lambs on pasture used by lambs the previous year.

Anthelminthics

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References:

Snyder, D.E., Marchiondo, A.A. Cruthers, L.R. 2020. Nematoda, Trichostrongyloidea. Chapter 2 in Marchiondo, Cruthers and Fourie (eds) Parasiticide Screening Vol 2. Academic Press

Van Dijk, J. and Morgan, E.R. 2008. The influence of temperature on the development, hatching and survival of Nematodirus battus larvae. Parasitology 135:269-283.

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