Dicrocoelium dendriticum
Dicrocoelium dendriticum
Taxonomy
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Platyhelminthes
- ClassTrematoda
- Subclass Digenea
- Order Plagiorchida
- Family Dicrocoeliidae
- Genus Dicrocoelium
Final host
Herbivorous mammals
Morphology
Adult: flat and lanceolate in shape, semitransparent, less than 1 cm long The oral and ventral suckers are located in close proximity The gut is simple and the gonads, lobed or subspherical The two testes lie in tandem behind the ventral sucker and the ovary lies inmediatly posterior to the testes The uterus fills the lower half of the body The vitelline glands lie in the middle third of the side margins of the body Eggs: small (≈ 45 x 30 µm), dark brown and operculate, contain a miracidium when passed in the faeces
Cycle
Indirect with two intermediate hosts 1st intermediate host: land snails (Cernuella, Helicella, etc.) 2nd intermediate host: ants (Formica spp)
Location
Liver: smaller bile ducts and gallbladder
Feeding
Bile juices
Diagnostic
Egg
Transmission
Metacercaria in 2nd IH (ants)
