The life cycle of Haematoloechus coloradensis Cort 1915 (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae), with emphasis on host susceptibility to infection.
Mother and daughter sporocysts and xiphidiocercariae of Haematoloechus coloradensis develop in the snail, Physa virgata. Cercariae penerate and encyst in dragonfly nymphs, Tramea sp., Libellula sp., Anax sp., and in damselfly nymphs, Enallagma spp. Upon ingestion by the vertebrate host, metacercariae excyst and migrate into the lungs where they mature. Haematoloechus coloradensis is specific for its definitive host, R. pipiens, but shows some development in Ambystoma tigrinum. Although H. coloradensis is specific for its snail host, all odonate species tested served equally well as the second intermediate host.
D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura; D007313:Insecta / Q000469:parasitology; D011894:Rana pipiens / Q000469:parasitology*; D012908:Snails / Q000469:parasitology; D014200:Trematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*