Table 1 Information on relevant filarial species found in rabbits and hares.
From: Genetic and morphological identification of filarial worm from Iberian hare in Portugal
Subfamily | Species | Geographic distribution (Year of 1st description) | Host | Location in the host | Morphological particularities | Observations | Occurency reports | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | Female | |||||||||
Splendidofilariinae | Micipsella numidica Seirat, 1917 | Central and Oriental Asia (1954) Equatorial Africa (1911) Europe (1956) | L. habessinicus L. chadensis L. aegyptiacus L. europeus L. capensis | Peritoneal cavity Intestinal mesentery | Length: 55–76 mm; Width: 410–736 µm; Presence of caudal cuticular protuberances. Long-tail; 2 to 3 pairs of postanal papillae; Length of right spicule < 100 µm | Length: 47–145 mm; Width: 540–750 µm; Microfilaria without sheath | Absence of Wolbachia endosymbiont | |||
Micipsella brevicaudata Lyons et Hansen, 1961 | North America (1961) | L. californicus | Peritoneal cavity | Dimensions unknown; Short and straight tail without post-cloacal papillae and small cuticular bumps; Compared with M. numidica, M. brevicaudata is less width; Nerve ring is closer to the anterior end; | Microfilariae with sheath | |||||
Micipsella indica Rao, 1938 | India (1823) | L. nigricollis | Circulatory system (heart and portal vein) | Length 70–100 mm; Long tail, 6 to 7 pairs of pre-anal papillae (three pairs of post-cloacal papillae); Right spicule longer than 110 mm, e.g., longer than those of M. numidica and M.brevicaudata Small caudal cuticular bumps are absent; Large cut | Length: 120–140 mm | |||||
M. iberica n. sp. | Portugal (2019) | L. granatensis | Circulatory system (thoracic veins and portal vein) | This study | ||||||
Dirofilariinae | Loaina scapicep Leidy, 1886s/ Dirofilaria scapiceps??? | North America, (1984) England (1958) | L. americanus L. campestris L. washingtonii L. europaeus Sylvilagus floridanus S. palustris S. aquaticus | Subcutaneous (lumbar region). Intermuscular fasciae of the hock of the foot, and in the joint between the tibia, fibula and tarsal bones. Rarely in the neck and knee joint In S. floridanus, worms were free within the delicate connective tissue sheaths around tendons along the front and lateral surfaces of the distal third of the tibiofibular, and immediately above the joint capsule of the ankle In L. americanus, worms were found within capsules around tendons along the front and lateral surfaces of the distal third of the tibiofibular, and immediately above the joint capsule of the ankle | Length: 11–16 mm; Width: 305–375 µm; Left spicule width 113–139 µm; Right spicule length 84–86 µm; The distal end barbed Ends tapered; Lateral alae; Additional pair of ventral, sub terminal papillae near the tip of the tail | Length: 25–30 mm; Width: 745–765-µm; Vulva located around 1,5 mm from the anterior end; Embryos are slender and filiform Tapered ends; L. scapiceps is coiled helically along the entire body length | Aedes canadensis, A. cinereus, A. excursians, A. fitchii, and A. verlans are putative intermediate hosts | |||
Loaina uniformis Priece 1957 Dirofilaria uniformis | USA (1957) | Sylvilagus floridanus | Subcutaneous tissues of the trunk | Body not coiled; Ends are not significantly tapered; No lateral alae; The distal end is smooth and pointed | ||||||
Dirofilaria timidi | Russia (1966) | Lepus timidus | Thoracic cavity | Considered as a species inquirenda | ||||||
Onchocercinae | Cercopithifilaria leporinus Bartlett,1983 | Canada (1983) | Lepus americanus | Subcutaneous connective tissues of trunk | Length: 7.1–10.3 mm; Width 94-114 mm; The pattern of papillae on the male tail Posterior end of body spirally coiled in 1 to 2 turns Area rugosa present, consisting of transverse bands of small, longitudinally elongate bosses, commencing 1.53 mm anterior to anus; Perianal, postanal, and subterminal caudal papillae present Perianal group: single, mid-ventral, sessile papilla immediately anterior to anus; 2- 3 small, sessile to semi-pedunculate papillae immediately posterior to anus; 5–6 medium sized pedunculate papillae lateral or slightly posterior to anus Postanal group: 1–2 large, pedunculate papillae located subventrally, one on either side, approximately midway between anus and posterior extremity Subterminal group: 3–5 variably sized occasionally double, semi-pedunculate papillae in two subventral Caudal extremity terminating in cuticular cone and two cuticular petaloid appendages Narrow caudal alae present Spicules dissimilar and unequal Proximal portion of lamina complex and twisted, distal portion simple and rod-like Right spicule 94 µm long, simple, non-granular in appearance, and strongly sclerotized except for right distal half which is weakly sclerotized. Gubernaculum absent | Length: 12.2-25 mm. Width: 104–180 mm Small size numerous mucrons on the tail; Vulva leading into a large, spherical vestibule One postdeirid occasionally present in left or right lateral field, approximately midway between anus and posterior extremity; Single, lateral papilla occasionally present posterior to postdeirid One to two lateral, subterminal papillae occasionally present; One to three lateral, postdeirid-like, subterminal structures occasionally present Posterior extremity complex, with terminal cuticular cone and two cuticular petaloid appendages Numerous, variably sized, cuticular mucrons located subterminally, ventral and dorsal to terminal cone | ||||
Brugia lepori Eberhard, 1984 Brugia sp. | North America (1994) | S. floridanus S.aquatics | Abdominal lymphatics and subcutaneous tissue | Length: 294–344 µm; Width: 8–8.5 µm (Microfilariae) Microfilaria had the characteristic subterminal and terminal nuclei | Brugia sp. microfilariae were observed in more than 60% of wild rabbits collected on Nantucket Island, Massachusett. B. leporis is a putative source of human infections in North America | |||||
