Mastophoris muris (Gmelin, 1790) Chitwood, 1938
In 1924, Cram described a new species of worm, Protospiruragracilis, from the cat based on a single nematode that was recovered from the stomach of a cat that had been fed larval nematodes recovered from a dung beetle. The worm was about 2 cm long, with an esophagus that was about 10% of the body length. The mouth had three large pseudolabia with each divided into three lobes, the central pseudolabial lobe appeared to have seven teeth. Even at the time of collection, Cram was concerned that the worm may have come from one of the rats that were fed to the cats in the colony.
Chitwood (1938) felt that the genus Protospirura could be separated from that of Mastophoris based on certain characteristics including the number of teeth and the location of the vulva. Wertheim, (1962) felt that there was no good reason for the separation of the genera and placed them all in
Chitwood BG. 1938. The status of Protospirura vs Mastophorus with a consideration of the species of these genera. Libro Jub Travassos 115-118.
Cram EB. 1924. A new nematode Protospiruragracilis, from the cat. JAVMA 65:355-357.
Miyata J. 1939. Study of the life cycle of Protospiruramuris (Gmelin) of rats and particularly of its intermediate hosts (In Japaneses). Volumen Jubilare Pro Professore Sadao Yoshida 1:101-136.
Quentin JC. 1970. Morphogénèse larvaire du spiruride Mastophorusmuris (Gmelin, 1790). Ann Parasitol Hum Comp 45:839-855.
Wertheim GA. 1962. A study of Mastophorusmuris (Gmelin, 1790) (Nematoda: Spiruridae). Trans Am Miocro Soc 81:274-279.