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

Abstract

The metacercariae of Acanthotrema felisSohn et al., 2003 (Digenea: Heterophyidae) were discovered ina species of the brackish water fish, Acanthogobius flavimanus, in the Republic of Korea. They were experimentallyfed to kittens, and adult flukes were harvested 7 days later. The adults were morphologically characterized by thepresence of a bipartite seminal vesicle, the ventral sucker associated with a ventrogenital sac enclosing 3 sclerites (2long and pointed, and 1 short and thumb-like), and an unarmed gonotyl. The adult flukes were identified as A. felisSohn et al., 2003, and the brackish water fish A. flavimanushas been verified as one of its second intermediate hosts.