[2] T. opisthorchis also contain unicellular gland-like bodies which open through the cuticle of the anterior half of the adult and are present on the posterior end of the acetabulum.

During copulation, sperm is ejaculated out of the male and into the female uterus where it is stored in the seminal receptable and fertilization of the eggs occur.

Following ingestion by the first intermediate host, the snail Potampyrgus antipodarum, where the eggs hatch and the larvae undergo asexual replication.

Free-swimming cercariae leave the snail and penetrate the skin of the fish Galaxias anomalus, which act as secondary intermediate hosts.

Metacercarial cysts are about 1 mm in diameter and are easily seen as small white colored lumps, sometimes through the skin of live fish.

Free-swimming cercariae leave the snail and encyst in the skin or flesh of Galaxias anomalus, which act as secondary intermediate hosts.

Generally, the metacercariae of T. opisthorchis will result in characteristic spinal and fin abnormalities that can be observed in the late larval and early juvenile stages of the host.