Contributions to the Life History of the Brain Fluke of Newts and Fish, Diplostomulum scheuringi Hughes, 1929 (Trematoda: Diplostomatidae)

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Abstract
The intramolluscan stages of Diplostomulum scheuringi are identified and described from the snail, Helisoma anceps, in Mountain Lake, Virginia. The cercaria is experimentally able to penetrate and develop in the eye and brain of several spp. of fish and in addition in all stages in the life history of the common newt, Notophthalamus v. viridescens. In view of the identical structure of naturally occurring diplostomula in newts and fishes, and the experimental demonstration of common origin of the worms, Diplostomulum trituri Kelley, 1934 is suppressed as a synonym of Diplostomulum scheuringi Hughes, 1929. Experimental evidence is presented to support the hypothesis of an obligate four-host life cycle for this trematode sp.