Observations on the Life Cycles of Notocotylus triserialis Diesing, 1839, and N. imbricatus (Looss, 1893) sensu Szidat, 1935

Abstract

Redescriptions of the cercaria, metacercaria and adults of N. triserialis and N. imbricatus are given. Cercariae developed in Lymnaea peregra and Bithynia tentaculata respectively and infected snails were collected from the Wentloog level, near Cardiff, South Wales. The characters adopted by Dubois for distinguishing species of this genus are more reliable than any alternative and the number of ventral glands is considered to be a reliable diagnostic feature in spite of suggestions to the contrary. The possibility of using chemical differences between the metacercarial cysts and other stages as a means of speciation is discussed.