Schistosoma cercaria

The cercaria consists of an oval body and a tail which is forked at the end. The darkly-stained oval body at the anterior end of the cercaria is called the anterior organ, and the dark mass filling the posterior 2/3 of the body is a collection of penetration glands that enable the cercaria to penetrate the skin of its mammalian host and migrate through the tissues after it transforms into a schistosomule. Eyespots are present but are not visible in this photo.