The Opecoelidae is a large family of digeneans with many species recorded from marine fishes. There are several reports dealing with descriptions of opecoelids from marine fishes of India. So far 98 species belonging to 20 genera have been recorded (Madhavi, 2011). However, considering the richness of the fish fauna of the region and the common occurrence of these parasites, it is evident that many more species remain to be detected. The life cycle of only one species Helicometra gibsoni Murugesh, Madhavi, Swarnakumari, 1993 has so far been elucidated from India (Murugesh et al. 1993). |
