Abstract

Radix auricularia coreana, the intermediate host of Fasciola gigantica, is the most common pulmonate snail in Korea, This species is often found intermingled with Austropeplea ollula, the intermediate host of F. hepatica, in their natural habitats. In the present study. the life history of Radix auricularia coreana was examined under three different laboratory conditions. Egg-masses were taken from the field-collected adult R. auricularia coreana and incubated in the temperature ramges of 22-26<TEX>$^{\circ}C$</TEX>. The hatching began after 11 days from spawned eggs, and complete hatching took about 12 days. The hatching rate was about 88%. The juvenile snails were cultured at three different laboratory conditions. When the juvenile snails were cultured in the aquarium fed on lettuce leaves at 22-26<TEX>$^{\circ}C$</TEX>, the snails reached 20 mm in shell length at 86 days after hatching. The bottom of each aquarium was filled up with washed sand(1.5 cm) and decomposing ark shells were put on the sand. The aquarium was then filled with four litres of distilled water and continuously aerated. Most of snails (93%) survived until the experimenta period. The dggs are laid in 40 days after hatching; the averge number of eggs per egg-mass was 40.8.