A New Furcocercaria, Cercaria roathensis, from British Freshwaters

Abstract

Most of our knowledge concerning the larval stages of the Strigeida is based on the studies of Canadian, American and European workers. One of the earliest descriptions of furcocercariae from British freshwaters was by Brown (1926, 1931) who recorded six new species from Cheshire. Later, Harper (1929) described three species and Hesse (1923) one un-named species, all from Scotland. During this period Matheson (1930) recorded the presence of Cercaria pseiidocellata Szidat, 1942 in an artificial lake at Roath Park, Cardiff, after reports of dermatitis from bathers. In 1932 Rees, during a general survey of Glamorgan, recorded an additional two species from the lake. These furcocercarial species were Cercaria X Baylis, 1930 and C. macrosoma which had been previously described by Brown in 1926.