In Europe, the life cycle of the trematode N. sobolevi was studied for the first time. Following developmental stages are described in detail: daughter sporocysts, cercariae, metacercariae, adults. Snails Galba corvus and Lymnaea stagnalis were found to be the first intermediate hosts in nature. Metacercariae were obtained experimentally from larvae of the mosquitoes Culex pipiens molestus, adults from the intestine of hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) and mice (Mus musculus). This is the first finding of this species in Czechoslovakia. The stability of taxonomically important features and comparison with closely related species is discussed.

Institute of Parasitology Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences

Species diversity of Plagiorchis Lühe, 1899 (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae) in lymnaeid snails from freshwater ecosystems in central Europe revealed by molecules and morphology