Capillaria columbae (Rud.) from the Chicken and Turkey

Abstract

During a period of several years in making autopsies on chickens and turkeys, the writer has found on a number of occasions a species of trichosome in the small intestine. This worm has been encountered only in small numbers and in birds showing no macroscopic changes of the intestine. It is known however that species in this genus attach themselves to and even penetrate the mucosa of the alimentary tract and that when present in large numbers they may be responsible for serious disease and death, especially in young birds. Freese (1908), Reibisch (1893) and Perroncito and Tomiolo (1899), cited by Neveu-Lemaire (1912), as well as other authors have reported disease in birds due to trichosomes, the former author in chickens due to Trichosoma retusum, and the latter authors in pheasants due to Trichosoma strumosum. A number of species of trichosomes have been reported from the chicken. Neveu-Lemaire refers to the following: T. retusumr Railliet, 1893; T. collare von Linstow, 1873; T. caudinflatum (Molin, 1858) Stoss., 1890; T. annulatum Molin, 1858; T. dubium Kowal., 1894, and T. gallinum Kowal., 1894. Stubbs and Crawley (1922) report a Capillaria sp. from the intestine of the chicken and attribute a chronic proliferative enteritis to it. Travassos (1915) reports Capillaria strumosa (Reibisch, 1893), a parasite of pheasants, in the chicken. Barile (1912) reports from the intestine of the domestic turkey, under the name of Trichosomum neleagris-gallopava, a species showing certain points of relationship to T. retusum. As will be shown presently, the form collected by the writer proved not to be one previously reported from the chicken or turkey, but Trichosoma columbae Rud., 1819, parasitic in the large and small intestines of the domestic pigeon and certain other columbines. The meager accounts of this species warrant the publication of the more complete study which the writer has made.