Table 2.

Comparison of characters and measurements of Cercaria sp. XIX Malabar n. sp. with related cercariae

Cercariae	Ceracria of Cotylurus flabelliformis (Faust, 1917) Haitsma, 1931	Cercaria helvetica XXXIV Dubois, 1934	Cercaria tetraglandis Iles, 1959	Cercaria allotropicalis Nasir and Scorza, 1966	Cercaria sp. XIX Malabar n. sp.
Body	Spinose, 185–250 (217) × 32–51 (39)	Spinose, 120–360 × 30–110	Spinose, 150–175 (165) × 31	Spinose, 142–189 × 30–49	Spinose, 155.1–191.4 (176.6) × 59.4–79.2 (68.6)
Tail	Aspinose, longer than body, 211–256 (238) × 32–45 (36)	Aspinose, 200–240 × 36	Aspinose, 110–115 (113) × 29	Aspinose, longer than body, 204–218 × 30-38	Spinose, longer than body, 181.5–283.8 (251.0) × 39.6–52.8 (45.8)
Furcae	211–262 (239)	240–270	Spinose, larger than tail stem, 130-140 (135)	196–207	Spinose, longer than tail stem, 243.3-277.2 (252.6) × 29.7–36.3 (32.6)
Anterior organ	32–47 (40) × 18–23 (20)	15–36	24 × 14	30–40 × 19–25	29.7–36.3 (32.8) × 29.7–36.3 (31.2)
Ventral sucker	21–26 (24)	29–36	16–19	16–25 × 19–30	26.4–29.7 (27.7) × 26.4–29.7 (29.0)
Prepharynx	Absent	Short	Long	Short	Short
Pharynx	Globular	12.0–36.0	Present	8.0–11.0	Pear-shaped, 16.5–23.1 (17.2) × 16.5–19.8 (17.4)
Oesophagus	Short	Short	Long	Moderate	Long, narrow
Caeca	Up to the level of genital primordia	Up to the level of excretory bladder	Septate, up to the level of excretory bladder	Anterior to genital primordia	Up to the posterior quarter
Excretory bladder	–	Tri-lobed	Transversely elongate	Tripartite	Triangular
Caudal excretory canal	Present	Open halfway along the furcal rami	Open at middle of furcal rami	Open halfway along the furcal rami	Opens out one-third from the furcal base
Flame cell formula	2 [(2 + 2) + (2 + 2 + (2))] = 20	2 [(2 + 2) + (2 + 2 + (2))] = 20	2 [(4) + (4 + (2))] = 20	2 [(2 + 2) + (2 + 2 + (2))] = 20	2 [(2 + 3) + (2 + 1 + (2))] = 20
Host(s)	Physa spp.	Lymnaea stagnalis	Planorbarius corneus	Australorbis glabratus	Gyraulus convexiusculus