THE LIFE-CYCLE AND TAXONOMIC RELATIONS OF LINTONIUM VIBEX (LINTON, 1900) STUNKARD AND NIGRELLI, 1930 (TREMATODA: FELLODISTOMIDAE)

¹ American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York.

Distomum vibex was described by Linton (1900) from Spheroides maculatus at Woods Hole, Massachusetts; the species was named type of a new genus, Lintonium, by Stunkard and Nigrelli (1930). Sporocysts and cercariae were described and the life-cycle was postulated by Martin (1945); further detailed descriptions of the sporocysts and cercariae were provided by Cable (1954), and a report of the life-cycle is given in the present paper. Other species, assigned to the genus Lintonium, have been described from the Sea of Japan, the South China Sea, Tasmania, Australia, Ceylon, the Bay of Bengal, West Pakistan, Hawaii, and the Gulf of California on the west Coast of Mexico. Published accounts are reviewed, but possible influence of development in different hosts can not be assessed with confidence and criteria for specific determination are uncertain. When information on life-cycles and intermediate hosts becomes available, taxonomic decisions can be made with more assurance.