Parelaphostrongylus

Parelaphostrongylus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Nematoda
Class:	Chromadorea
Order:	Rhabditida
Family:	Protostrongylidae
Genus:	Parelaphostrongylus Boev & Schultz, 1950 [1]

Parelaphostrongylus is a genus of parasitic nematodes belonging to the family Protostrongylidae. All species in this genus use North American cervids as definitive hosts. ^[2]

Species

Three species are assigned to this genus: ^[1]

• Parelaphostrongylus andersoni Prestwood, 1972
• Parelaphostrongylus odocoilei (Hobmaier and Hobmaier, 1934)
• Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (Dougherty, 1945)

Life cycle

Infected cervids pass first-stage larvae in their fecal pellets. After coming into contact with the larvae, gastropods become intermediate hosts and facilitate development of the larvae to the infective third stage. ^[3] Transmission to the definitive hosts occurs when cervids inadvertently consume infected gastropods along with food. ^[3] Infective larvae of Parelaphostrongylus odocoilei have been shown to emerge from gastropod hosts in lab conditions, raising the possibility of an alternate transmission route. ^[4]

References

1. "Parelaphostrongylus Boev & Schulz, 1950". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 16 October 2025.
2. Anderson, Roy C. (2000). Nematode parasites of vertebrates: their development and transmission. CABI Books. C.A.B. International (2nd ed.). Wallingford: CABI. pp. 141–147. ISBN   978-0-85199-786-5.
3. Kocan, A. Alan; Davis, John William; Pybus, Margaret Jean; Samuel, William M., eds. (2001). Parasitic diseases of wild mammals (2nd ed.). Ames: Iowa State University Press. ISBN   978-0-470-37700-0.
4. Jenkins, E. J.; Kutz, S. J.; Hoberg, E. P.; Polley, L. (2006). "Bionomics of Larvae of Parelaphostrongylus odocoilei (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) in Experimentally Infected Gastropod Intermediate Hosts". The Journal of Parasitology. 92 (2): 298–305. ISSN   0022-3395.