ACANTHOPARYPHIUM TYOSENENSE (DIGENEA: ECHINOSTOMATIDAE): EXPERIMENTAL CONFIRMATION OF THE CERCARIA AND ITS COMPLETE LIFE HISTORY IN KOREA

Cercaria yamagutii Ito, 1957, was found in the marine mesogastropods Lunatia fortuni and Glossaulax didyma from the tidelands of Simpo located at the estuary of the Mankyoung River, which runs to the western coast of Korea. Metacercariae were found in a marine bivalve Mactra veneriformis after being infected with C. yamagutii experimentally. When a sea gull, Larus crassiostris, was fed with the metacercariae collected from the infected M. veneriformis, adult worms were recovered 10 days later. It was confirmed that the parasites collected from L. crassiostris were Acanthoparyphium tyosenense Yamaguti, 1939. From the results of this life cycle study, it was determined that the first intermediate hosts of A. tyosenense are L. fortuni and G. didyma. The second intermediate and final hosts are M. veneriformis and L. crassiostris, respectively. Mactra veneriformis was experimentally infected with C. yamagutii isolated from L. fortuni and G. didyma by maintaining them in a water tank for 30 min at about 20 C. The cercariae entered M. veneriformis through their incurrent siphons. Five hours after infection, the cercariae tails began to separate from the bodies, and the cercariae formed cysts. Mature cysts were formed 340 hr (14 days) after infection and identified as the metacercariae of A. tyosenense. The prevalence of A. tyosenense metacercariae was 99.5% in naturally infected M. veneriformis. This is the first report of C. yamagutii as the cercaria of A. tyosenense, and the complete life cycle of A. tyosenense was established in Korea.