Angiostrongylus vasorum		Contents		Rev 09/03/2026
Canine Heartworm		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Angiostrongylus Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Angiostrongylidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

  Rhabditia

    Rhabditida

      Strongyloidea

        Angiostrongylidae

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Morphology and Anatomy:

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Distribution:

Originally described as a parasite of a domestic dog in Toulouse, France. Reported througout Europe and parts of North America and in South America.. Intercepted in Australia in an iimported dog. The range appears to be increasing due to anthropogenic introductions of pet animals (Cowie, 2019).

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Feeding:

  Snails are intermediate hosts and canids (dogs, foxes), definitive hosts. Type host a domestic dog.

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

Proposed life cycle of Angiostrongylus vasorum, canine heartworm,  as an example:  (a) First-stage larvae (L1) are passed out in the feces of the final host. The prepatent period is around 40-60 days, and larvae are reputedly egested for many years after infection, and possibly for the lifetime of the final host. (b) L1 larvae infect molluscan intermediate hosts either by ingestion while foraging on faeces or by penetration through the epidermis.  (c) Intermediate host: several species of slug and snail have been infected experimentally but it is not really known which species are most important in nature. Larvae develop in the intermediate host, moulting twice to reach the third stage (L3) after about 16 days.  (d) The common frog (Rana temporaria) can act as a paratenic host after ingestion of infected slugs or snails, and as an intermediate host after experimental infection with L1.  (e) L3 are ingested by the final host, either with an infected gastropod, possibly food contaminated with snail or slug secretion (slime) containing L3 larvae, or a paratenic host.  (f) Final host: the fox and dog (and possibly also other wild canids and mustelids) are final hosts. After ingestion, L3 penetrate the gut and migrate to abdominal lymph nodes, where the third and fourth moults take place. The early L5 then enter the portal circulation and migrate through the liver to reach the right ventricle and pulmonary arteries, where they develop to the adult stage. The female is oviparous and eggs are carried in the bloodstream to the pulmonary capillaries. The eggs hatch and L1 penetrate into the alveoli, migrate to the pharynx and are swallowed, to pass out in the feces.

Adapted from Morgan et al.(2005) Various species of gastropod mollusts reported as intermediate hosts (Cowie, 2019).

Ecophysiological Parameters:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

Cowie, R.H. 2019. Annotated catalogue of species of Angiostrongylus and the related genera Gallegostrongylus, Rodentocaulus and Stefanskostrongylus (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea, Angiostrongylidae). Journal of Helminthology 93, 389-423. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X19000270

Kamensky, S.N. 1905. Sistematichescoe polozhenie rodov Metastrongylus Wost. i Protostrongylus g. n. sredi drugikh Strongylidae [The systematic position of the genera Metastrongylus Wost. and Protostrongylus g. n. among other Strongylidae]. Sbornik Trudov Kharkovskago Veterinarnago Instituta[Comptes rendus des travaux speciaux de l�Institut veterinaire a Kharkoff] 7(2), 17-50.

Morgan, E.R., Shaw. S.E., Brennan, S.F., De Waal, T.D., Jones, B.R., Mulcahy, G. 2005. Angiostrongylus vasorum: a real heartbreaker. Trends in Parasitology 21:49-51.

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Revised by Howard Ferris: September 03, 2026.