Ostertagia circumspecta

=Teladorsagia circumspecta

Contents

Rev 10/18/2025

Stomach Worm of Sheep and Goats Classification Biology and Ecology
Morphology and Anatomy Life Cycle
Return to Ostertagia Menu Ecosystem Functions and Services
Distribution Management
Return to Haemonchidae Menu Feeding  References
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 Classification

Chromadorea
Chromadoria
Rhabditida
  Rhabditina
   Stronglyloidea
    Haemonchidae
Ostertagiinae

Ostertagia (Teladorsagia) circumspecta (Stadelmann, 1894) Ransom, 1907

Synonyms:

 

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Morphology and Anatomy:

The genera Ostertagia and Teladorsagia are morphologically indistinguishable with species differentiation based on the structure of the spicules that usually have three distinct branches (Snyder et al., 2020)

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


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Distribution:

 

 

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Economic Importance:

 

 

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Hosts:

Teladorsagia circumcincta parasitizes the abomasum of sheep and goats.

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Feeding:


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Life Cycle:

The lifecycles of O. ostetagi and T. circumcincta are essneially the same (Snyder et al., 2020).

Life cycle is direct, there are no intermediate hosts. Eggs are deposited in feces of infected cattle. Depending on temperature and moisture conditions, eggs hatch and juveniles develop as microbivores to the third stage. During this free-living phase, juveniles migrate to surrounding grass and other herbage where they are consumed by grazing animals. Third stage juveniles associated with grass may survive for two years or more, although numbers decline across time (Rose, 1961).

The L3 exsheath in the rumen and enter the lumen of an abomasal gland. The L3 molts twice to the L5 that emerges from the gland about 18 days post-infection. The L5 become sexually mature adults on the mucosal surface. The prepatent period is 3 weeks. However, ingested L3 may become arrested (hypobiotic or inhibited phase) in development at the early L4 for periods up to 6 months.

The patterns of early L4 can entering an inhibited phase occur seasonally in temperate climates with cold winters and hot dry summers. For example, the seasonal patterns of inhibition of O. ostertagi in the southern United States occur with a progressive accumulation of early L4 during spring months and resumption of the development in late summer and early fall. The opposite occurs for colder regions where L3 ingested in the fall months remain as early L4 in the abomasal glands over the winter months and resume development in the spring (Snyder 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:

Teladorsagia circumcincta parasitizes the abomasum of sheep and goats and is the major economic parasite of small ruminants worldwide

 Ostertagia ostertagi is a major cause of parasitic gastritis in abomasum of cattle in temperate areas of the world (Snyder et al., 2020)...

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Management:

Anthelminthics.

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References:

Beveridge, I., Spratt, D.M., Durette-Desset, M-C. 2013. Order Strongylida (Railliet & Henry, 1913). Handbook Of Zoology Online. De Gruyter

Drozdz, J., 1995. Polymorphism in the Ostertagiinae Lopez Neyra, 1947 and Comments on the Systematics of These Nematodes, Syst. Parasitol., 1995, 32:91-99.

Klesius, P.H. 1988. Immunity to Ostertagia ostertagi. Veterinary parsitology 27: 159-167.

Kuznetsov, D.N. 2011. Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Ostertagia (Nematoda: Ostertagiinae) Based on an ITS2 rDNA Study. Biology Bulletin, 38:608-614. Original Russian Text: Kuznetsov, D.N. 2011, in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Biologicheskaya, 2011, 6: 710-16.

Michel JF. 1963. The phenomena of host resistance and the course of infection of Ostertagia ostertagi in calves. Parasitology. 1963;53(1-2):63-84. doi:10.1017/S0031182000072541

Ransom. B.H. 1907. Notes of Parasitic Nematodes, Including Descriptions of New Genera and Species and Observations on Life Histories. US Govwernment Printing Office 7pp.

Rose, J.H. 1961. Some observations on the free-living stages of Ostertagia ostertagi, a stomach worm of cattle. Parasitology 51:295-307.

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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