ECHINOSTOMATID LARVAL STAGES IN LYMNAEA VIATRIX (GASTROPODA: PULMONATA) FROM SOUTHWEST PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA

The partial life cycle of an echinostomatid found in Lymnaea viatrix from Patagonia, Argentina, was experimentally clarified. Emerging cercariae were exposed to laboratory-reared specimens of Biomphalaria sp. Metacercariae obtained from both naturally and experimentally infected snails were force-fed to chicks. Specimens recovered from the chicks belong to Echinoparyphium sp. on the basis of morphological features. The studied species possesses 43 collar spines arranged in 4-4-27-4-4 at all stages, a cercariae with over 100 small corpuscles in the excretory system, a cercariae tail without finfolds, and a metacercariae with a thin cyst wall. The present species cannot be assigned to Echinoparyphium megacirrus despite their morphological similarity because of differences in the habitats of L. viatrix and the intermediate hosts of E. megacirrus, namely Chilina dombeiana, Diplodon chilensis, and Temnocephala chilensis. More information on some life cycle stages and on the ecology of the intermediate hosts is needed to clarify the taxonomic status of the parasite. This study represents the first detailed description of parasites other than Fasciola hepatica in L. viatrix from Argentina.