The Life Cycle of the Frog Bladder Fluke, Gorgoderina attenuata Stafford, 1902 (Trematoda: Gorgoderidae)

A survey of many ponds in western Massachusetts for their cercarial fauna has revealed a high infestation of the bivalve mollusc, Sphaerium occidentale Prime with a gorgoderid cercaria. Tadpoles of Rana sylvatica LeConte, R. clamitans Latreille, and R. pipiens Schreber from these ponds are heavily infested with cysts which, on examination, seemed to be identical with this gorgoderid cercaria. Adult frogs and newts (Triturus v. viridescens) in this area are commonly infested with Gorgoderina attenuata Stafford, 1902. With these field observations as a background, a series of experiments were undertaken to establish definitely the life cycle of this species of bladder fluke. The consequent results indicate that the life cycle is as predicted from the result of the field survey.