Studies on the Metacercariae (Digenea) Infecting Dragonfly Nymphs of the Families Gomphidae & Libellulidae from Malampuzha, Palakkad

Abstract

In a study conducted in the freshwater bodies of Malampuzha, located in the Palakkad district of Kerala, between June and August 2023, researchers discovered three species of metacercariae from dragonfly nymphs. The identified dragonfly nymph belongs to Gomphidae family and Orthetrum genus and Libellulidae family and Brachydiplax genus. The three metacercariae discovered and described morphometrically in details. Two metacercaria were already identified: Ganeo tigrinus (Mehra and Negi, 1928), Pleurogenoides malampuzhensis (Brinesh and Janardanan, 2013), while a new Metacercaria described during this investigation is distinct from others in having greenish contents in its caecae so it is recorded here as Metacercaria sp. I Malampuzha.  The discovery of Metacercaria sp. I Malampuzha adds to the biodiversity of the region and highlights the importance of studying larval stages of aquatic insects as potential hosts for parasitic organisms. The ecological data of prevalence and intensity of metacercariae in the different host was analyzed and discussed.