The life history and development ofAmplicaecum robertsi, an ascaridoid nematode of the carpet python (Morelia spilotes variegatus). I. Morphology and functional significance of larval stages
Authors: Sprent J. F. A. 
Published: June 2009

The development ofAmplicaecum robertsihas been followed from the egg to the adult stage using laboratory mice and rats as intermediate hosts. The eggs were found to be resistant to desiccation and would develop under water; they were infective to mice after culturing for 18 days after removal from the uterus.

Completion of the first moult occurred after hatching of the eggs in the intestine. Within 6 hr. of infection second-stage larvae had reached the liver. They also appeared in the lungs and carcass, but after 2 days were mostly confined to the liver.

At 5–7 days after infection larvae underwent a period of lethargy followed by the second moult and the third-stage larvae commenced a period of growth reaching a length of 79 mm. at 28 weeks after infection in the liver of mice. In rats the growth of the larvae was slower for the first 2 months, but eventually they reached more or less the same proportions as in mice. The intestinal caecum appeared at a length of 3–4 mm., but there was no development of the reproductive organs throughout the third stage and no evidence of the third moult in rodents.

Fifty carpet snakes were autopsied and searched for larvae and adults ofA. robertsi; in two snakes third-stage larvae were found in the aorta; in one snake the third moult was observed in the wall of the stomach and oesophagus; in three snakes the fourth moult was observed in the wall of the stomach; in twenty-six snakes adults were found.

Experimental infection of laboratory-reared carpet snakes showed that infection with embryonated eggs resulted in second-stage larvae in the tissues which did not develop further. Infection with third-stage larvae, resulted in two distinct migratory patterns depending upon the maturity of the larvae administered. Larvae from the liver of laboratory rats which had been infected less than 12 weeks previously, migrated to various tissues, especially the aorta, of the snake, where they remained coiled in cysts filled with clotted blood for periods up to 112 days. Growth occurred within these cysts, but no evidence of moulting was observed. In contrast, larvae from the liver of laboratory rats infected 12 weeks or more previously, and from mice infected for 8 weeks or more, underwent the third moult in the wall of the oesophagus and stomach of the snake.

With the onset of the fourth stage, the development of the reproductive organs became evident and continued during the fourth stage. It appeared that the fourth stage may occur in two phases, possibly depending on the size of the third-stage larva at the time of ingestion. Some experimental infections indicated that third-stage larvae may give rise to attached fourth stage larvae, probably capable of active growth. Other observations indicated that fourth-stage larvae may remain encapsulated in the wall of the stomach or oesophagus until sex differentiation is completed, after which the fourth moult occurs and the adult parasite emerges, leaving two sheaths of the same length within the capsule.

The functional significance of each of the larval stages is discussed and it was concluded:—that the first-stage larva is one of tissue differentiation, whereby development proceeds to the infective stage; that the second stage represents a migratory phase without structural changes; that the third stage represents a growth phase, characterized by considerable increase in size, but without further radical changes in differentiation.

In contrast, the fourth stage is characterized by absence of growth, inability to migrate, and by marked structural changes in the reproductive organs, whereby the sexes are differentiated. Evidently this development may take place while the fourth stage is attached to the wall of the stomach or oesophagus, or while the larva remains in the capsule in a state of quiescence.

The fourth moult may occur in the attached state, but usually occurs within the capsule. After it is completed, the adult may remain for an indefinite period within the capsule with the two sheaths of the third and fourth stage. The emergence of the adult worms may be influenced by the arrival of food in the stomach. Once this phase is initiated, both growth and reproductive activity ensue during the adult stage.

This work was financed by a research grant from the University of Queensland. The writer wishes to acknowledge the valuable assistance of Miss Ann Pritchard.