Litomosoides

 

Contents

 

Rev 10/13/2025

  Classification Hosts
Morphology and Anatomy Life Cycle
Return to Litomosoides Menu Economic Importance Damage
Distribution Management
Return to Onchocercidae Menu Feeding  References
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Classification:

Nematoda
Chromadorea
Spiruria
Spirurida
            Filarioidea
   Onchocercidae

Litomosoides Chandler, 1931

Type species of the genus: Litomosoides sigmodontis Chandler, 1931

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Body size range for the species of this genus in the database - Click:
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Distribution:

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Economic Importance:

 

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Litomosoides

 

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Biology and Epidemiology

 

 

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Hosts:

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Life Cycle:

 

In filarial nematodes, two hosts are required to complete the life cycle, an intermediate host (often an arthropd) and a primary or definitive host (usually a vertebrate). The juvenile stages occur in the intermediate host and the reproductive adult in the definitive (primary) host. Juvenile stages (microfilariae) are adapted to the anatomical and behavioral characteristics of intermediate and definitive hosts. So, morphometrics of microfilariae of different filarial species may be selected by the morphometrics of the organ and circulatory systems of particular hematophagus arthropod intermediate hosts, for exmaple mites, ticks or mosquitos.  For exemple, microfilariae of Litomosoides sigmodontis are in the range of 70-100 um in length and 4 um in diameter (Bain and Babayan, 2003).. 
For a relative size-perspective, the infective second stage juveniles of the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita are 300-400 um long and 15 um in diameter.
Of course, enormous increase in size can occur in the definivive hosts, rodents in the case of L. sigmodontis, adult females amd males may be, respectively, 33-120 and 14-28 mm in length, 0.3 and 0.15 mm in body diameter.


   

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click 
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Damage:

 

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Management:

 

 
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References:

  • Bain, O. and Babayan, S. 2003.Behaviour of filariae: morphological and anatomical signatures of their life style within the arthropod and vertebrate hosts. Filaria Journal 2, 16
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  • Dzimianski, M.T., Marchiaondo, A.A., Cruthers, L.R. 2020. Nematoda, Filarioidea. Chapter 2 in Marchiondo, Cruthers and Fourie (eds) Parasiticide Screening Vol 2. Academic Press.

  • Durette-Desset, M-C. and Guerrero, R.A. 2006. A new species of Hypocristata (Nematoda, Trichstrongylina, Helimosomoidea) a parasite of Sigmodon hispidus (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) from Venezuela. Parasite 2006, 13

  • Peters, W. and Gilles, H.M. 1991. A Colour Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology. Third edn., Wolfe, London.

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    Copyright 1999 by Howard Ferris.
    Revised: October 13, 2025.