Taxonomy of bird schistosomes not only in planorbid snails in Europe

Cercarial dermatitis caused by bird schitosomes is in focus not only by scientists, but also by the general public. The disease has medical and economic impact, and it is responsible for financial losses in many resorts all around the world. Only some causative agents of the disease are known, because of parasite cryptic life style and biology (e.g. size and location of adults in the definitive host; gonochorism) and inaccurate descriptions in the past. With the onset of modern molecular methods taxonomic revisions of old species of bird schistosomes and descriptions of new ones are of top interest. In Europe pulmonate snails are used by bird schistosomes as intermediate hosts, with some exceptions. Descriptions of new species and genera were recently focused on findings from lymnaeid molluscs, in which the genus Trichobilharzia (the most significant causative agent of cercarial dermatitis) is often developing. Therefore, less attention was paid to the snails of the family Planorbidae. Planorbid snails are most commonly infected by the species of Bilharziella polonica, its typical host in Europe is Planorbarius corneus, less common hosts are Planorbis planorbis, Bathyomphalus contortus or Anisus vortex. B. polonica is spread all over the world. There are also known findings from the Czech Republic...