Syphacia obvelata		Contents		Rev 20-01-2026
Mouse Pinworm; Threadworm		Classification
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Syphacia Menu		Distribution		Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Feeding		Management
Return to Oxyuridae Menu		Biology and Ecology		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea
Chromadoria

           Rhabditida 

                       Spirurina

                          Oxyuroidea

                   Oxyuridae

Syphaciinae

 

            Syphacia obvelata (Rudolphi, 1802) Seurt, 1918

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Male:

• Length 1.1-1.5 mm
• Spicule 68-90 um long, 4.5-6 um wide
• Gubrenaculum transversely directed, 28-34 um long and 6-7.5 um wide.
  Tail 120-140 um long with 3 ventral cuticular bossed or mamalons.

Female:

• Length 3.4-5.8 mm, width 240-500 um; tail 530-675 um long
•  Eggs with one side flattened, 118-153 x 33-35 um. Embryo undifferentiated in utero.

Ref: Marchiondo, 2020

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Distribution:

Wordwide, parasite of the large intestine of mice and other rodents

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Feeding:

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Hosts:

Mouse and other rodents

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Life Cycle:

• Infective eggs with an adhesive coating are deposited in the perianal region of the hoste by the female worm protruding its posterior end from the anus of the infected mouse.
•  Eggs are ingested by mice from the perianal region of other mice or in contaminated food; they hatch in the small intestine within 1 h of ingestion.
•  Larvae develop in the cecum.
• Adult males become sexually mature in 5 days and disappear or die after copulation.
• After fertilization, females migrate from the cecum to the large intestine and then to the anus to deposit eggs.
•  The prepatent period is 12-15 days (Marchiondo et al., 2020).

Ecophysiological Parameters:

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Copyright  1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: January 20, 2026.