Completion of the Life Cycle of Eurytrema pancreaticum (Trematoda: Dicrocoeliidae)

Abstract

Snails, Bradybaena similaris, and tettigoniid grasshoppers, Conocephalus maculatus, are intermediate hosts of the common cattle trematode, Eurytrema pancreaticum, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When sporocysts from the snails are fed to the grasshoppers, the contained cercariae penetrate the gut and encyst in the hemocoel. Metacercarial cysts grow to maximum size in about 9 days, and mature in about 2 additional weeks. Identical cysts from naturally infected grasshoppers develop into young worms in the pancreas of goats.