Two new species of furcocercous cercariae infecting the fresh water snail, Thiara tuberculata (Müller) in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala

Two new species of furcocercous cercariae, Cercaria sp. XVI Malabar n. sp. and Cercaria sp. XVII Malabar n. sp. were recovered from the freshwater snail, Thiara tuberculata in the Malabar region of Kerala. Cercaria sp. XVI Malabar n. sp., a pharyngeate, longifurcate furcocercous cercaria with two pairs of penetration glands and 10 pairs of flame cells was recovered from T. tuberculata collected from Kundayithode in Kozhikode district and Nilambur in Malappuram district of Kerala. Cercaria sp. XVII Malabar n. sp., another pharyngeate, longifurcate cercaria with a rudimentary ventral sucker was recovered from the same snail host collected from Nilambur in Malappuram district. Sporocysts of Cercaria sp. XVI Malabar n. sp. developed in the hepatopancreas, while that of Cercaria sp. XVII Malabar n. sp. were found developing in both hepatopancreas and stomach wall. The present paper describes the new species of cercariae in detail and compares them with related species to establish their systematic position.