Hassalstrongylus dollfusi

Species of roundworm

Hassalstrongylus dollfusi

Hassalstrongylus dollfusi, mainly the synlophe
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Nematoda
Class:  | Chromadorea
Order:  | Rhabditida
Family:  | Heligmonellidae
Genus:  | Hassalstrongylus
Species:  |

H. dollfusi

Binomial name
Hassalstrongylus dollfusi

(Díaz-Ungría, 1963) Durette-Desset, 1971 [1][2]

Hassalstrongylus dollfusi is a nematode worm of the genus Hassalstrongylus, first described under the name Longistriata dollfusi by Carlos Díaz-Ungría in 1963 who named it dollfusi as an homage to French parasitologist Robert-Philippe Dollfus.[1] The species was transferred to the genus Hassalstrongylus in 1971 by Marie-Claude Durette-Desset.[2] Serrano et al. redescribed the species in 2021.[3]

## Morphology

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Male organs of Hassalstrongylus dollfusi

Hassalstrongylus dollfusi is a medium-sized nematode (3-10 mm in length), generally uncoiled, sometimes loosely coiled in 1–3 spirals.[1]{[3]}

According to Serrano et al. (2021), characters of Hassalstrongylus dollfusi males are: the morphology of the caudal bursa and the peculiar shape of the distal tip of the spicules. Characters of the female are: the dorsal cuticular inflation at ovejector level and the subventral postvulvar alae supported by hypertrophied struts.[3]

## Biology and distribution

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A map of the distribution of Hassalstrongylus dollfusi in Argentina

The species is parasitic in the small intestine of rodents. Hassalstrongylus dollfusi was first described in 1963[1] as a parasite of a wild house mouse, Mus musculus, in Venezuela and was never reported again for the next six decades. In 2021 a paper based on a large survey of native rodents showed that the species was actually present as a parasite in five species of wild native cricetid rodents in Argentina: Oligoryzomys fornesi, Oligoryzomys flavescens, Oligoryzomys nigripes, Holochilus chacarius and Akodon azarae.[3] The authors wrote that Hassalstrongylus dollfusi showed a strong preference for host species of Oligoryzomys, which appear to act as primary hosts.[3]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Diaz-Ungria, Carlos (1963). "Nématodes parasites, nouveaux ou intéressants, du Vénézuéla". Annales de Parasitologie Humaine et Comparée. 38 (6): 893–914. doi:10.1051/parasite/1963386893. ISSN 0003-4150.
2. ^ a b Durette-Desset, M.C. 1971. Essai de classification des nématodes héligmosomes. Correlations avec la paléobiogéographie des hôtes. Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (A)69:1–126.
3. ^ a b c d e Serrano, Paula Carolina; Digiani, María Celina; Gómez-Muñoz, María de los Angeles; Notarnicola, Juliana; Robles, María del Rosario; Navone, Graciela Teresa (2021). "Hassalstrongylus dollfusi (Nematoda, Heligmonellidae): rediscovery in native South American rodents, six decades after its description". Parasite. 28. EDP Sciences: 80. doi:10.1051/parasite/2021077. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 8663770. PMID 34889736.