MUNFORD, J.G., DA ROS, L., STRADA, R., - A study on the mass mortality of mussels in the Laguna Veneta.

A digenetic trematode, Cercaria tenuans, was the probable causative agent of an extensive mortality of cultured mussels (Mytilus edulis = gallo-provincialis) in the southern part of the Laguna Veneta, Italy. Sporocysts of C. tenuans occurred in the mantle tissue, the visceral mass and in the extra-pallial fluid space between the mantle and the shell. Germballs and apparently viable cercaria, or daughter sporocysts, were observed in the sporocysts. Other microscopic parasites were found in low numbers. Online ISSN 1749-7345; ISSN 0735-0147