The life cycle of Rubenstrema opisthovitellinum So?tys, 1954 (Trematoda: Omphalometridae).

The life cycle of Rubenstrema opisthovitellinum So?tys, 1954, a parasite of shrews, is elucidated. The following developmental stages are described in detail: daughter sporocyst, cercaria, metacercaria, and adult. The freshwater snail Planorbarius corneus was found to be the first intermediate host in nature. The metacercariae were obtained from the larvae of mosquitoes Culex molestus and only exceptionally from snails Physa acuta. The adults were obtained from the small intestine of hamsters Mesocricetus auratus. The life cycle and the larval stages of R. opisthovitellinum are described for the first time.