Melanopsis praemorsa snails are considered one of the intermediate hosts for digenetic trematode cercariae. Digenean larvae were obtained from M. praemorsa snails that were collected from Palestine. Cercaria melanopsi palestinia I and III were identified as a xiphidiocercaria belonging to the microcotylae subgroup and as a microcercous cercaria, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of the ITS2 region of the nuclear rDNA revealed that C. melanopsi palestinia I belongs to the family Lecithodendriidae Luhe, 1901, and it could be placed in the genus, or closely related to known Lecithodendrium. Analysis of ITS1 rDNA indicates that Cercaria melanopsi palestinia III belongs to the family Opecoelidae Ozaki, 1925. The present study supported the presence of non-virgulate xiphidiocercariae among the Lecithodendriidae. Molecular characterization of certain cercariae obtained from M. praemorsa snails has not been investigated previously elsewhere. C. melanopsi palestinia I and C. melanopsi palestinia III could be placed in the genera Lecithodendrium and Opecoeloides, respectively, or to closely related
genera. Further studies are needed using laboratory experimental infections to clarify the complete life cycle for these larval trematode species.

Title

Pakistan J. Zool

Publisher

Zoological Soscity of Pakistan

Publisher Country

Pakistan

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

0.79

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

51

Year

2019

Pages

2069-2075