Rev 01/10/2026
Cooperia Ransom, 1907
Type species of the genus: Cooperia curticei (Giles, 1892) Ransom, 1907
Females:
Males:
(Albrechtova et al., 2020; Beveridge et al., 2014; Snyder et al., 2020)
..
The genus Cooperia consists of trichostrongylids that infect the small intestine of ruminants in temperate, tropical, and subtropical areas of the world.
Cattle are important hosts
There are three major species of Cooperia in cattle: C. oncophora, Cooperia pectinata, and C. punctata. Cooperia surnabada infects both cattle and sheep, while Cooperia curticei infects sheep and goats.
Ruminants, cattle, sheep and goats.
Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Cooperia
Species of the genus Cooperia are monoxenous parasites with a direct life cycle. The pre-parasitic larval phase is completely free-living. Eggs, produced by females feeding in host intestine, are passed through host feces and hatch in the fecal pat The first stage larvae (L1) feed on soil and fecal bacteria. Two subsequent molts to L2 and L3 are completed between 24 and 36 hours.
The infective L3 larvae do not feed and are enclosed in a sheath composed of the retained L2 cuticle. They migrate from the fecal pat� into grasses, where they develop and become infectious in 1 to 6 weeks.
Infective larvae can survive for up to one year, until they are swallowed by a ruminant host. In the host, the L3 larvae exsheath, move into mucosa of the small intestine, and undergo the third and fourth molts to L4 and L5 larvae. Within 2-3 weeks, the L5 larvae develop into sexually mature adult males or females. Ferilized females produce eggs, and the cycle repeats (Albrechtova et al., 2020).
Nematodes of the genus Cooperia enter a phase of hypobiosis when conditions are unfavorable for their growth and development in the host tissues.
Parasitic gastroenteritis caused by Cooperia spp. is a major cause of economic losses in the livestock industry.
Actually, Cooperia spp. are considered less pathogenic than the other gastrointestinal roundworms of cattle and sheep. However, high worm burden can substantially reduce the productiivity of host animals and result in lack of appetite and reduced weigh gain (Albrechtova et al., 2020).
The prophylaxis of parasitic gastroenteritis relies heavily on anthelmintic treatments. However, their frequent use has led to the appearance of resistant parasite populations, which have been jeopardizing the livestock industry worldwide.
Albrechtova, M., Langrova, I., Vadlech, J., Spakulova, M. 2020. A revised checklist of nematodes (Trichostrogyloidea), common parasites of wild and domestic ruminants. Helminthologia 57: 280-287.
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
Gibbons, L.M. Revision of the African species of the genus Cooperia Ransom, 1907 (Nematode, Trichstrongylidae). Systematic Parasitology 2: 219-252 (1981)
Giles, G.M.J. 1892. A description of two new nematode parasites found in sheep. Scientific Memoirs by the Medical Officers of India, Part 7, pp. 45-19, 1 pl., figs 1-9.
Ransom, B.H. 1907. Notes on parasitic nematodes, including descriptions of new genera and species, and observations on life histories. United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Circular 116, 76 pp.
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
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