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

ABSTRACT

The metacercariae of Acanthotrema felis Sohn et al., 2003 (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 Sohn et al., 2003, and the brackish water fish A. flavimanus has been verified as one of its second intermediate hosts.