A study of the life history of Microphallus paragrapsi Smith 1983 (Trematoda : Microphallidae)

Metacercariae of the microphallid trematode Microphallus paragrapsi Smith 1983 were found in the nervous system of the smooth pebble crab Philyra laevis (Bell 1855). Sporocysts of M. paragrapsi were found in the hepatopancreas of the intertidal gastropod Assiminea brazieri (Tenison Woods 1876). Under laboratory conditions, cercariae were found to emerge from the snail host and invade the intertidal crab P, laevis, where they subsequently encysted within the nerves innervating the legs and claws. Adults of M. paragrapsi were found in the gut of the Pacific gull Larus pacificus (Latham 1801). The life history of M. paragrapsi is very similar to the life history of the related species Microphallus pachygrapsi Deblock & Prevot 1969.