A new species of Paragonimus (Trematoda: Troglotrematidae) from a cat infected with metacercariae from mountain crabs Larnaudia larnaudii

Abstract

The identification of Paragonimus spp. lung flukes is based on the morphology of both the metacercaria and the adult. A very small Paragonimus sp. metacercaria was found in a freshwater crab caught in Kanchanaburi Province, West Thailand, an area where metacercariae of Paragonimus heterotremus had not been found. The metacercariae cysts were 180-204 μm in diameter, which was smaller than metacercariae of P. heterotremus. The coefficient of difference in body size between this metacercaria and P. heterotremus was 1.69, which was greater than a subspecific difference. Adults recovered from the lungs of a cat fed with the metacercariae were morphologically similar to, but smaller than, P. heterotremus dissected from the lungs of a feline experimental host. The tegumental spines of the worm in this study were singly spaced in arrangement, which is similar to, but larger than, the spines of P. heterotremus. Therefore, Paragonimus pseudoheterotremus is proposed as a new species. © American Society of Parasitologists 2007.