Ecological and Parasitological Study on Cerithidea cingulata (Gastropoda) in Hormoz Strait Littoral, South of Iran

BACKGROUND: “Cerithidea cingulata” is reported from south of Iran, may act as intermediate host of Heterophyes heterophyes and cercaria dermatitis. As parasitological aspects of this brackish snail were not studied in Iran, this study was conducted in 2016, in Hormoz Strait, south of Iran. METHODS: Totally 402 snails were collected from 36 locations of three main regions in Hormozgan Province, Iran in 2015. In each location, one square meter was checked, and snails were collected for parasitological study. Snails were crashed and cercariae were studied using light microscope, in some cases natural red staining was used for better resolution. RESULTS: Mean length of snails was about 20.33 mm, width 5.57 mm. The aperture length was 5.10 and spire was 15.22. Important founded cercaria was cysticercus cercariae, echinostoma cercaria, furcocercus cercaria, furcocystocercous cercaria, gastrostomy cercaria, gymnocephalus cercaria, monostome cercaria, pelurolophocercus cercaria and xiphidiocercaria. CONCLUSION: The presence of this snail is reported from Persian Gulf to western Pacific in China. Our study showed a pattern of infection in local area and was compatible with other studies. Importance of C. cingulata as intermediate host of some medically important disease should be considered and other complementary molecular studies for exact identification of cercaria are necessary.