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Infestation of the slugs Milax sowerbii Férussac and Agriolimax reticulatus Müller by trematode metacercariae (Brachylaemidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

R. Foster
R. Foster
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, The Durham Colleges in the University of Durham*
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Extract

1. The parasitization of the slugs Milax sowerbii and Agriolimax reticulatus by a brachylaemid trematode in an area in Durham, during the period 1949–53, is described. Evidence is given that M. sowerbii is a natural intermediate host of the parasite.

2. Seasonal fluctuations in the incidence of infestation are described, including the fluctuations in the incidence of the four developmental stages of the metacercariae. Primary (spring) and secondary (autumnal) infestations of the molluscs are described.

3. The implications of an unexplained decline in parasite density during 1953 are noted.

4. A life history for the parasite, involving a small mammal as the vertebrate host, is postulated.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 48 , Issue 3-4 , November 1958 , pp. 303 - 311
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1958

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References

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Foster, R. (1958). The effects of trematode metacercariae (Brachylaemidae) on the slugs Milax sowerbii and Agriolimax reticulatus. Parasitology, 48, 261–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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