Some new molluscan hosts of Dicrocoelium dendriticum in Spain

Twenty species of the family Helicidae (Gastropoda, Pulmonata) from the N.W. of Spain were tested as hosts for D. dendriticum in experimental conditions. The relationship between the egg hatching in the digestive tract and the development of sporocysts (108-110 days after egg ingestion) was studied. Three species were found to be new intermediate hosts of this trematode: Candidula intersecta , Helicella corderoi and H. jamuzensis . On the basis of the results obtained, the ecological value of the positive species in the life cycle of the parasite is discussed.