| Diagnosis |
A microscopic to minuscule; elongate fluke with the body either bulging around the ventral sucker or with the ventral sucker on a projection off the body. Oral and ventral suckers: Moderately (approximately I ventral sucker diameter) separated. Short tail: Usually withdrawn into the body. Oral sucker: More than 1/3 and less than 1/2 the diameter of the ventral sucker. Vitellaria: reduced to 2 compact; lobate masses just posterior of the ovary; and the testes are one in front of the other with the anterior one partially underneath the ventral sucker (Ref. 359). Overstreet found the tail may be extended or not, with the ceca extending into the tail or not; the testes may be in contact or separated; the sizes of the oral sucker and ventral sucker and ratios of these sizes varied; sizes of the eggs varied; the small size of this worm, pre-acetabular pit, weakly-developed cirrus sac and low number of post ovarian coils of the uterus, were consistent characters that allowed this worm to be identified (Ref. 411). |
