Bunostomum trigonocephalum

Bunostomum trigonocephalum Sheep and Goat Hookworm	Contents	Rev 10/21/2025
	Classification	Biology and Ecology
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Bunostomum menu		Ecosystem Functions and Services
	Distribution	Management
Return to Ancylostomidae Menu	Feeding	References
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Classification

Phylum: Nematoda
Class: Chromadorea
Order: Rhabditida

Superfamily: Ancylostomatoidea

Family: Ancylostomidae

Bunostomum trigonocephalum Rudolphi 1808

Morphology and Anatomy:

Buccal capsule large,cuticle-lined.
Stoma without lacks distinct lips abut large and ovoid mouthm partly occluded by a pair of sub-ventral cuticular plates arisinge from the wall of the buccal cavity.
A pair of sub-ventral lancets or basal onchia located at the base of the buccal cavity
A dorsal tooth arises from the base of the buccal cavity and terminates just inside the mouth. A duct lies within this dorsal tooth and extends from the ampulla of the dorsal esophageal gland at the base of the tooth and opens just below its tip.
Muscles from the dorsal surface of the esophagus to the base buccal capsule may activate cutting structures,

Males:

Length 10-12 mm, 400-475 um wide
Spicules filiform, 3.5-4 mm long

Females:

Length 16-19 mm,500-600 um wide; pointed tail 400-500 um long
Eggs 79-117 x 47-70 um, thick rough shell

Ref: Marchiondo et al., 2020; Wilfred and Lee, 1981

Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:

Distribution:

Occurs in warm, moist climates (Marchiondo et al., 2020).

Economic Importance:

Infects the small intestine of sheep and goats.

Hosts:

Bunostomum trigonocephalum is a parasite of sheep and goats

Life Cycle:

Definitive hosts are sheep and goats. Lifecycle is direct.

Definitive hosts pass eggs in the feces. Eggs released in the feces develop and hatch as infective Lr larvae in 5-16 days. Infective L3 penetrate through the skin or are swallowed by definitive host.. Larvae migrate to the respiratory tract, are coughed up, swallowed, and reach the small intestine to develop to adults.

The prepatent period is 52-60 days (Marchiondo et al., 2020).

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this species, click	If species level data are not available, click for genus level parameters

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Damage:

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Management:

Anthelminthics

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References:

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

Wilfred, M. and Lee, D.L. 1981. Observations on the buccal capsule and associated glands of adult Bunostomum trigonocephalum (Nematoda). International Journal for Parasitology 11:485-492.

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