| Dactylogyrus vastator | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Class: | Monogenea |
| Order: | Dactylogyridea |
| Family: | Dactylogyridae |
| Genus: | Dactylogyrus |
| Species: | D. vastator |
| Binomial name | |
| Dactylogyrus vastator Nybelin, 1924 | |
Dactylogyrus vastator is a species of monoic flatworms of class Monogenea. It is an ectoparasite of fish which infests the gills. It is problematic on fish farms. It is otherwise non-hazardous to humans.
D. vastator is just over 1.25 millimeters long. It has two pairs of hooks known as hamuli, one on the lower surface of the worm, and a larger set at the rear. It has three pairs of sticky sacs and four eyespots.[ citation needed ]
D. vastator lives in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.
The flatworm causes mass mortality among fingerling carp in fish-rearing ponds. Abnormal multiplication of cells in the gill epithelium interferes with carp's respiratory functions. The parasite is especially significant in the former Soviet Union, eastern and northern Europe, [1] India, and Sri Lanka, where carp are bred for food. [2]
Dactylogyrus vastator has one host and no intermediate hosts. New hosts are located and infected by free-living larvae (oncomiracidium). D. vastator lives in the gills of carp species, including goldfish. The adult lays eggs on the gill filaments which are then washed out of the gill cavity and into the water. A ciliated oncomiracidium emerges from the egg in 3–5 days, depending on water temperature. In warmer temperatures the embryo develops more rapidly. The larva emerges, leaving the embryonic membrane inside the egg. The larva is drawn into the gill cavity of a host fish, where it attaches by its hooks. The larva can also swim actively and attach to the skin of the host and migrate to the gills. The larva reaches sexual maturity about ten days later. [3]
Summer is the season of peak infestation, and by fall the worms are scarce. Eggs released late in the season enter diapause, a period of inactivity. When the water warms the following spring the eggs develop.
Young carp are more often infested, sometimes fatally when large numbers of worms attach to the gill filaments. Superinfection can occur during the summer when the worms are most abundant.
The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates. Unlike other bilaterians, they are acoelomates, and have no specialised circulatory and respiratory organs, which restricts them to having flattened shapes that allow oxygen and nutrients to pass through their bodies by diffusion. The digestive cavity has only one opening for both ingestion and egestion ; as a result, the food cannot be processed continuously.
Acanthocephala is a group of parasitic worms known as acanthocephalans, thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms, characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to pierce and hold the gut wall of its host. Acanthocephalans have complex life cycles, involving at least two hosts, which may include invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. About 1420 species have been described.
The tinfoil barb is a tropical Southeast Asian freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. This species was originally described as Barbus schwanenfeldii by Pieter Bleeker in 1853, and has also been placed in the genera Barbodes and Puntius. The specific epithet is frequently misspelled schwanefeldii.
Monogeneans, members of the class Monogenea, are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive structures.
The apple maggot, also known as the railroad worm, is a species of fruit fly, and a pest of several types of fruits, especially apples. This species evolved about 150 years ago through a sympatric shift from the native host hawthorn to the domesticated apple species Malus domestica in the northeastern United States. This fly is believed to have been accidentally spread to the western United States from the endemic eastern United States region through contaminated apples at multiple points throughout the 20th century. The apple maggot uses Batesian mimicry as a method of defense, with coloration resembling that of the forelegs and pedipalps of a jumping spider.
Dipylidium caninum, also called the flea tapeworm, double-pored tapeworm, or cucumber tapeworm is a cyclophyllid cestode that infects organisms afflicted with fleas and canine chewing lice, including dogs, cats, and sometimes human pet-owners, especially children.
The glochidium is a microscopic larval stage of some freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae, the river mussels and European freshwater pearl mussels.
Diplozoon paradoxum is a flatworm (platyhelminth) from the class Monogenea. It is found in freshwater fishes in Asia and Europe and known for its complete monogamy. This parasite is commonly found on the gills of European cyprinid fishes. It is usually around 0.7 centimeters long and has bilateral symmetry. It has several hooks at its mouth which it uses to grab on to the gills of a fish. From there it feeds on the blood of the cyprinid.
Entobdella soleae is a monogenean (Platyhelminth) skin parasite of the common sole, Solea solea, an important food fish. They are approximately 2 to 6 mm in length. It is flat, translucent, and has a large, disc-shaped haptor, a posterior organ used for semi-permanent attachment to the host. Typically, 2-6 parasites are found on wild sole, but in intensive fish farms this can rise to 200-300 parasites per fish, causing skin inflammation and sometimes death of the sole. E. soleae can live up to 120 days in seawater.
Dactylogyrus is a genus of monogeneans in the Dactylogyridae family.
Lernaeocera branchialis, sometimes called cod worm, is a parasite of marine fish, found mainly in the North Atlantic. It is a marine copepod which starts life as a small pelagic crustacean larva. It is among the largest of copepods, ranging in size from 2 to 3 millimetres when it matures as a copepodid larva to more than 40 mm as a sessile adult.
Argulus foliaceus, also known as the common fish louse, is a species of fish lice in the family Argulidae. It is "the most common and widespread native argulid in the Palaearctic" and "one of the most widespread crustacean ectoparasites of freshwater fish in the world", considering its distribution and range of hosts. It can cause the severe disease state argulosis in a wide variety of fish species. It is responsible for epizootic outbreaks that have led to the collapse of aquaculture operations. Fish lice are not related to lice, which are insects.
Pseudorhabdosynochus is a genus of monopisthocotylean monogeneans, included in the family Diplectanidae. The type-species of the genus is Pseudorhabdosynochus epinepheli .
Anisakis simplex, known as the herring worm, is a species of nematode in the genus Anisakis. Like other nematodes, it infects and settles in the organs of marine animals, such as salmon, mackerels and squids. It is commonly found in cold marine waters, such as the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean.
Gyrodactylus turnbulli is an ectoparasite from the class Monogenea, is part of the phylum Platyhelminthes, and from the genus Gyrodactylus. It only requires one host to transmit an infection; however, since this parasite lacks oncomiracidium, it must rely on either the adult or subadult for spread of infection. Found in freshwater, this flatworm is commonly found on the gills and fins of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. G. turnbulli was said to be host specific, but an experiment where parasitologists artificially infected guppies suggests that the parasite can infect a wider range of species. This ability is achievable by host switching, which promotes speciation.
Diclidophora nezumiae is a species of monogenean flatworm that parasitizes the gills of the rattail fish Nezumia bairdii. Due to a highly localized host habitat parasite incidence is relatedly localized to the Hudson Submarine Canyon.
Pseudorhabdosynochus lantauensis is a diplectanid monogenean parasitic on the gills of the longtooth grouper, Epinephelus bruneus. It was described in 1981 as Cycloplectanum lantauensis and later transferred to the genus Pseudorhabdosynochus by Kritsky & Beverley-Burton in 1986.
Microcotyle sebastis is a species of monogenean, parasitic on the gills of a marine fish. It belongs to the family Microcotylidae.
Cat worm infections, the infection of cats (Felidae) with parasitic worms, occur frequently. Most worm species occur worldwide in both domestic and other cats, but there are regional, species and lifestyle differences in the frequency of infestation. According to the classification of the corresponding parasites in the zoological system, infections can be divided into those caused by nematode and flatworms - in the case of the latter, mainly cestoda and trematoda - while other strains are of no veterinary significance. While threadworms usually do not require an intermediate host for their reproduction, the development cycle of flatworms always proceeds via alternate hosts.
