Identification of Acanthotrema felis (Digenea: Heterophyidae) metacercariae encysted in the brackish water fish Acanthogobius flavimanus

摘要

The metacercariae of Acanthotrema felis (Digenea: Heterophyidae) were discovered in a species of the brackish water fish, Acanthogobius flavimanus, in the Republic of Korea. They were experimentally fed to kittens, and adult flukes were harvested 7 days later. The adults were morphologically characterized by the presence of a bipartite seminal vesicle, the ventral sucker associated with a ventrogenital sac enclosing 3 sclerites (2 long and pointed, and 1 short and thumb-like), and an unarmed gonotyl. The adult flukes were identified as A. felis , and the brackish water fish A. flavimanus has been verified as one of its second intermediate hosts.