Must I Reiterate? Not the Damn Fish
Liver flukes reproduce both sexually and asexually. Adults are hermaphroditic, capable of both cross- and self-fertilization. The larvae stage known as sporocyst reproduces asexually with its offspring developing into rediae, which also multiply asexually. Adults live in the bile ducts of their mammalian host. Their eggs enter the host gut and are passed on with feces. They hatch to form free-living egg larvae or miracidia, which can live only a few hours in water. If a suitable snail host is entered, the miracidium develop into a sporocyst, which produce, either more rediae or another type of larvae called cercaria. The cercaria exit the snail via the pulmonary cavity, free-swim until attaching to grass or some other object, and develop into cyst-encased metacercaria. The metacercaria remain secure in their cysts until eaten by a mammal. If eaten, a metacercarium bores through to the mammal's liver and remains until it matures into an egg producing adult, at which time it settles in the bile ducts.
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