Physaloptera praeputialis		Contents		Rev 10/25/2025
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Physaloptera  Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Physalopteridae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Adults pink
• Mouth qith two large, triangular lateral pseudolabia, each armed with teeth,
• Large cervical collarette, and a prepuce-like cuticular sheath covering the posterior end of the body

Female:

•  Length 15-58 cm , width 1.0-1.7 mm.
• Vulva is located a little anterior to the mid-body.
• Eggs  elliptical , 45-58 x 30-42 um with thick, clear smooth shell containing an L1 when laid

Male:

• Length 13-45 mm , widthe 0.7-1.4 mm
• Spicules unequal length , left 1-1.4 mm, right .84-.98 mm

Ref  Marchiondo and Cruthers, 2020

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Distribution:

Physaloptera praeputialis is a spiruroid nematode infecting the stomach of dogs, coyotes, foxes, cats, and other wild felids throughout the world.

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Feeding:

Infects stomach of dogs, coyotes, foxes, cats and wild canids and  felids.

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

Definitive hosts, dogs, coyotes, other falids; intermediate hosts cockroaches, crockets.

• Eggs of P. praeputialis shed in the feces of a definitive host are immediately infective to cockroaches and crickets (intermediate hosts).
•  Larvae hatch in the midgut of the intermediate hosts and migrate to the intestine and body cavity to develop to the L3 after 23 days
• Definitive hosts become infected by ingesting an L3-infected intermediate host.
• Development to the adult stages about 95 days after ingestion.
• Definitive hosts can also become infected by ingesting paratenic hosts (lizards and hedgehogs), which have ingested intermediate hosts.
• The prepatent period in cats is 131-156 days.
• Ref: Marchiondo and Cruthers, 2020

Ecophysiological Parameters:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

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

Copyright 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: October 25, 2025.