Two Plenosominoides Metacercariae from Mountain Crabs in Central and Eastern Thailand

Abstract

Abstract

Mountain or waterfall crabs from Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, Kanchanaburi, and Chantaburi provinces, were collected and examined for trematode metacercariae. Among the metacercariae recovered, two species of the family Microphallidae were found−Plenosominoides yangshanensis and P. vajrasthirae n comb. The cysts were oval with a thick wall; the metacercariae inside the cyst wall were fully developed−all organs were visible, but no eggs. Their common features were as follows: vitellaria formed into two groups anterior-lateral to each caecum, cirrus pouch incompletely circular, not enclosing a ventral sucker. Little information was known of these trematodes and there has been no report of their public-health importance.

Keywords : Plenosominoides, trematode, metacercaria, crab