Vol. 11, Special Issue 4 (2022)

Author(s):
Kalimuthusamy Sumathi, Thavasi Anna, Ambalathaduvar Meenakshisundaram, Sundaram Muthukrishnan and Shanmugavel Manoharan

Abstract:
The study was conducted to describe the morphology and morphometry of nematodes recovered from the digestive tract of Indian rock python macroscopically and microscopically. Six round worms collected from Indian rock python (Python molurus molurus) in the Papanasum Western Ghats region were presented to Department of Veterinary Parasitology for identification. The worms were dull white in colour, medium to large in size and the length ranged from 6 to 8.5 cm. Anterior end of the worm revealed 3 roughly oval shaped prominent lips along with interlabia and cervical alae. In female, the posterior part of body is wider than anterior. Cuticle of the worm had fine transverse striations. Eggs were oval to almost spherical with pitted shell, measuring 0.071 - 0.076 X 0.66 - 0.71 mm. Based on the morphological characters and morphometry, the worms were identified as Ophidascaris spp.