Identifying 3rd larval stages of common strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes (class: Nematoda) infecting Egyptian equines based on morphometric analysis

Abstract

Abstract Strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes are one of the most important parasites infecting equines. The traditional method to identify these nematodes is through coproscopy and fecal culture. Because of the scarcity of data published in Egypt discussing the morphometric features of infective 3 rd larvae of these nematodes, this study aims to provide a morphometric key for L3 of common strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes infecting Egyptian equines. For this reason, we cultured fecal samples containing GINs eggs and 3 rd larval stages were identified based on their morphology (i.e., shape and number of intestinal cells (IC), shape of the esophagus, and shape of the tail sheath) in addition to computing their dimensions (i.e., length of larvae with sheath, length of the esophagus, length of intestinal cells, and body breadth). We identified 3 rd larval stages of four strongylid nematodes ( Cyathostomum sensu lato , Strongylus vulgaris , Strongylus equinus , and Strongylus edentatus ) as well as two non-strongylid nematodes ( Strongyloides westeri , and Trichostrongylus axei ). Statistically, our results revealed significant differences in terms of total length, body width, esophagus length, and gut length among 3 rd larvae identified in the current study. The combination of both morphological and metric keys will allow the better identification of common strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes infecting equines.