Strongylus equinus
Category:
Species:
Endoparasite
Description:
Large strongyles with length 1.5-4 cm; greyish-red worms with well developed buccal capsule in its base with four tooth-like inside projections.
Location:
In fresh carcasses, worms are found attached to the mucosa of the caecum and colon, they feed on mucosal epithelium and suck blood.
Life cycle:
Strongylus equinus L3 moult to L4 in nodules formed in the submucosa of large intestines (mostly caecum), then migrate through the peritoneal cavity to the liver; after 6-8 weeks of migration in the liver parenchyma, they travel to the pancreas via hepatic ligaments (4th moult), then retum to the gut and become adult by about 9 months p.i.
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