Oesophagostomum venulosum

Nodular Worm

Contents

Rev 10/17/2025

  Classification Biology and Ecology
Morphology and Anatomy Life Cycle
Return to Oesophagostomum menu Ecosystem Functions and Services
Distribution Management
Return to Chabertiidae Menu Feeding  References
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 Classification

Phylum:  Nematoda
Class:    Chromadorea
Order:    Rhabditida 

Superfamily:  Strongyloidea

Family:  Chabertiidae

Subfamily Oesophagostominae

 

Oesophagostomum venulosum (Rudolphi, 1809) Railliet, 1896

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Females:

  • 13-24 mm long and 500-600 um wide with a 150-200 um long tail
  • Vulva  quite posterior, 310 um anterior to the anus
  • Eggs 90 x 52 um

Ref: Marchiondo et al., 2020

Males:

  • 11-16 mm long and 300-400 um wide
  • Spicules 1.1-1.5 mm long
  • Gubernaculum 120 um long, shovel-shaped with a telamon supporting structure near the cloacal aperture.
 
Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:


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Distribution:

Distributed worldwide, especially in areas where non-seasonal rainfall occurs year round.

 

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Economic Importance:

Parasite of the colon of sheep and goats. Considered non-damaging (Marchiondo et al, 2020).

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Hosts:

Sheep and goats

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Feeding:

Parasite of the mucosa of the colon.

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Life Cycle:

Lifecycle is direct, no intermediate host. Eggs are deposited in feces. The L1 is probably microbivorous in the feces and molts to the L2  and then to the infective L3. Infective L3 are present in pasture year round. The infective larvae are ingested by grazing animals and enter the mucosa of the large intestine where they become encapsulated in nodules. They molt to L4 and enter an arrested (histotrophic phase) for 34 months. The L4 emerge from the nodules on to the surface of the mucosa and molt to the adult stage when they mate and produce eggs. The prepatent period is 35-39 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:

Topical and injected formulations of some anthelminthics are effective in cattle (Rehbein et al., 2022).


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References:

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

Rehbein S., Hamel, D., Yoon, S., Johnson, C. 2022. Efficacy of eprinomectin topical solution and eprinomectin extended-release injection treatments against developing larval and adult Chabertia ovina and Oesophagostomum venulosum - two less common cattle nematode parasites. Veterinary Parasitology 312: 109837 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2022.109837

 

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