THE MORPHOLOGY, LIFE-HISTORY, AND TAXONOMIC RELATIONS OFODHNERIA ODHNERITRAVASSOS, 1921 (DIGENEA: MICROPHALLIDAE)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Metacercariae, encysted in the abdominal muscles of the common prawn, Palaemonetes vulgaris, taken in Quisset harbor near Woods Hole, Massachusetts [USA], developed to maturity in recently-hatched gulls, Larus argentatus. The worms were identified as O. odhneri Travassos, 1921. Sporocysts and microphallid cercariae were found in Littorina saxatilis at Quisset. The cercariae were ingested by small P. vulgaris that was isolated in the laboratory for over 2 mo. and encysted metacercariae were recovered that proved identical with others of natural infection. Stages in the life-cycle were described. Data from seasonal infections indicate a 1-yr life-cycle of the parasite. Systematic and taxonomic relations of O. odhneri were also discussed.