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Observations on Minchinia pickfordae (Barrow 1961) found in snails of the Great Lakes region

TitleObservations on Minchinia pickfordae (Barrow 1961) found in snails of the Great Lakes region
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1965
AuthorsJr. JHBarrow
JournalTransactions of the American Microscopical Society
Volume84
Pagination587-593
KeywordsSNAILS
Abstract
  1. Minchinia pickfordae (Barrow, 1961) was present in snails from Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron, and lakes in Ocqueoc and Cheboygan rivers drainage systems. 2. Parasitism of the snails is greatest among the scavenger snails feeding on consolidated bottoms with the incidence of infection increasing in the late summer and fall. 3. It has been recovered in three genera and five species of the snails: Physa parkeri, P. sayii, Lymnaea emarginatum, L. stagnalis, Helisoma campanulata. But it has not appeared in Goniobasis Sp., Campeloma Sp., or Helisoma trivolvis, collected in the same regions. 4. Limited evidence is presented that it is pathogenic to the snails. 5. On the basis of morphological similarity of the haplosporidians in different host species the indications are that Minchinia pickfordae is not greatly host-specific. 6. Experimental transmission of the parasite supports the above conclusion and indicates a direct life cycle.