''Schistosoma ovuncatum'' is a

schistosome ''Schistosoma'' is a genus of trematodes, commonly known as blood flukes. They are parasitic flatworms responsible for a highly significant group of infections in humans termed ''schistosomiasis'', which is considered by the World Health Organ ...

parasite, first described in 2002. Its recognition as a new species only occurred when zoologists were re examining specimens originally described in 1984 The species was described from material collected in

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai is the largest Provinces of Thailand, province (''changwat'') of Thailand by area. It lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It ...

, northwest

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The name is derived from the shape of the egg (''ovum'' = egg + ''uncatus'' hooked). The natural final host is the rat (''

Rattus rattus The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is ...

'') and the intermediate host is the pomatiopsid snail '' Tricula bollingi''.

References

Animals described in 2002 Waterborne diseases Parasites of rodents Diplostomida {{trematode-stub