Description

The Heligmonellidae is the most speciose family of the Heligmosomoidea, one of the three superfamilies of the Trichostrongylina, nematode parasites of the digestive tract of all groups of terrestrial vertebrates. The family comprises more than 360 species distributed worldwide, mainly parasitic in rodents. Their life-cycles being monoxenous, and their hosts relatively easy to breed in laboratory, these parasites are interesting for researchers as models to address different topics such as host-parasite relationships, biology, pathogenicity and phylogeny. However, the huge diversity of the group, together with its apparent morphological homogeneity, makes its identification extremely difficult. This critical revision presents for the first time a compilation of all the taxonomical, morphological and morphometrical data available on the family Heligmonellidae, and intends to provide researchers with a must-have tool for identifying the known taxa as accurately as possible. Four of the five recognized families are treated here : the Tricholinstowiinae, the Heligmonellinae, the Pudicinae, and the Brevistriatinae.