Tracheal worm
| Tracheal worm | ||||||||||||
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Trachea in a pheasant's trachea |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Syngamus trachea | ||||||||||||
| ( Montagu , 1811) |
The windpipe worm ( Syngamus trachea ) lives parasitically in the windpipe of chickens and other birds.
features
The female is about 4 cm long. The male is permanently connected to the female.
Life cycle
The eggs travel through the windpipe to the throat and from there through the gastrointestinal tract to the outside. The host either takes the eggs with the already infectious larvae directly, or the larvae hatch in an intermediate host (earthworm, snails, flies etc.), where they do not develop any further, and are eaten together with the host. They travel from the intestine via the blood to the lungs and from there into the windpipe.
Harmful effect
A mass infestation affects the bird's breathing and the animal can suffocate.
swell
- Summary (engl.) ( Memento of 24 February 2015, Internet Archive )