Breinlia (Breinlia) ventricola Spratt & Hobbs, 2003

Spratt, David M., 2011, New records of filarioid nematodes (Nematoda: Filarioidea) parasitic in Australasian monotremes, marsupials and murids, with descriptions of nine new species 2860, Zootaxa 2860 (1), pp. 1-61 : 37-38

Breinlia (Breinlia) ventricola Spratt & Hobbs, 2003

Breinlia (Breinlia) ventricola Spratt & Hobbs, 2003, pp. 67–71 , figs. 1–14, ( Macropus rufus ) southern Pilbara Region, Westen Australia.

Type host: Macropus rufus (Marsupialia: Macropodidae ).

Other hosts. Macropus robustus erubescens .

Site in host. Right ventricle & pulmonary arteries.

Other material examined. From Macropus robustus erubescens: WA : 4♂ 6♀, ( N5476 ), 6 km N Fortescue River Roadhouse, Pilbara.

Distribution and hosts. Breinlia (B.) ventricola is known to date only from the original description from red kangaroos and a recent record in the euro, both from the southern Pilbara region, Western Australia.

Remarks. Breinlia (B.) ventricola is a very large filarioid resembling the dog heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis , in size, site in the host, and potentially in pathological effects. It is surprising that such a large parasite has been found only recently despite the hosts being important components of the game meat trade.