Macrostrongylus

Macrostrongylus	Contents	Rev: 05/14/2026
	Classification	Biology and Ecology
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Macrostrongylus Menu		Ecosystem Functions and Services
	Distribution	Management
Return to Heligmonellidae Menu	Feeding	References
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Classification:

Chromadoria
Rhabditida: Rhabditina
Infraorder Rhabditomorpha
Heligmosomoidea: Heligmonellidae
Brevistriatinae

Macrostrongylus
: Type species of the genus: Macrostrongylus ratti Ow-Yang, Durette-Desset & Ohbayashi, 1983.

Synonyms:

Morphology and Anatomy:

Strongylidae are thought to have arisen from free-living rhabditoid nematodes (Durette-Dusset et al., 1994).

Macrostrongylus ingens:

Large nematodes, 18-40 mm long
cephalic vesicle short, prominent, separated by cuticular collar;
buccal capsule vestigial.
Mouth opening triangular, with rudimentary lips.
Esophagus claviform; nerve ring surrounds esophagus at about half to two thirds its length;
Synlophe absent.

Ref. Smales, 2008

Females:

Tail short, conical, ending in knob,
Monodelphic ovijector with vestibuleand sphincter,
vulva elongated to tail tip
Cuticle in front of vulva extending to form a short prepuce or completely surround
the tail.

Males:

Bursa symmetrical, dorsal ray symmetrical, divided at each branch dividing again at the distal tip; terminal divisions,
Genital cone short, ventral lip lobed.
Spicules equal, filiform, tips curved
Gubernaculum present

Body size range for the species of this genus in the database - Click:

Distribution:

Described from white-tail rat, Uromys caudimaculatus, in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea

Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Macrostrongylus

Intestinal parasites of rodents. Species reported from Uromys caudimaculatus, Melomys rufescens, Paramelomys levipes, P. platyops Durette-Desset and Digiani, 2023).

Life Cycle:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click

Ecosystem Functions and Services:

Beveridge, I., Spratt, D.M. and Durette-Desset, M-C. 2014. Order Strongylida (Railliet and Henry, 1913). In Schmidt-Raesa, A. (ed). Handbook of Zoology: Gastroctricha, Cycloneurelia and Gnathifera. Vol 2. Nematoda. De Gruyter, Berlin.

Durette-Desset, M-C. Digiani, M.C., 2023. Revision of the genera of Heligmonellidae (Nematoda, Heligmosomoidea), parasitic in Muridae from New Guinea. Parasite 2023 Dec 20;30:63. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2023058

Ow-Yang, G. K., Durette-Desset, M-C., Ohbayashi. 1983. Sur les nematodes parasites de rongeurs de Malaisie II. Les Trichostrongyloidea. Annales de Parasitologie Humaine et Comparee 58:467-92.

Smales, L.R. 2008. Three New Species of Heligmonellidae (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) from Melomys, Paramelomys, and Uromys (Rodentia: Muridae) from Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Comp. Parasitol. 75:52-60.