Grebes are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes. Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species exist, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains a single family, the Podicipedidae, which includes 22 species in six extant genera.
The black-necked grebe or eared grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecies. Its breeding plumage features a distinctive ochre-coloured plumage which extends behind its eye and over its ear coverts. The rest of the upper parts, including the head, neck, and breast, are coloured black to blackish brown. The flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut, and the abdomen is white. When in its non-breeding plumage, this bird has greyish-black upper parts, including the top of the head and a vertical stripe on the back of the neck. The flanks are also greyish-black. The rest of the body is a white or whitish colour. The juvenile has more brown in its darker areas. The subspecies californicus can be distinguished from the nominate by the former's usually longer bill. The other subspecies, P. n. gurneyi, can be differentiated by its greyer head and upper parts and by its smaller size. P. n. gurneyi can also be told apart by its lack of a non-breeding plumage. This species is present in parts of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.
The pied-billed grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas.
Podilymbus is a genus of birds in the Grebe family, the genus name is derived from Latin Podilymbus, a contraction of podicipes —the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek kolymbos, "diver".
The Atitlán grebe, also known as giant grebe, giant pied-billed grebe, or poc, is an extinct water bird, a relative of the pied-billed grebe. It was endemic at the Lago de Atitlán in Guatemala at an altitude of 1700 m asl. It was described in 1929 by Ludlow Griscom based on a specimen collected in 1926 and had been overlooked in the past. American ecologist Anne LaBastille observed the decline of this species over a period of 25 years. It was declared extinct by 1990.
Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of many similar units known as proglottids—essentially packages of eggs which are regularly shed into the environment to infect other organisms. Species of the other subclass, Cestodaria, are mainly fish infecting parasites.
Paracorixa concinna is a species of water boatman in the family Corixidae. It is found in Europe
Raillietina is a genus of tapeworms that includes helminth parasites of vertebrates, mostly of birds. The genus was named in 1920 in honour of a French veterinarian and helminthologist, Louis-Joseph Alcide Railliet. Of the 37 species recorded under the genus, Raillietina demerariensis, R. asiatica, and R. formsana are the only species reported from humans, while the rest are found in birds. R. echinobothrida, R. tetragona, and R. cesticillus are the most important species in terms of prevalence and pathogenicity among wild and domestic birds.
Moniezia expansa is commonly known as sheep tapeworm or double-pored ruminant tapeworm. It is a large tapeworm inhabiting the small intestines of ruminants such as sheep, goats and cattle. It has been reported from Peru that pigs are also infected. There is an unusual report of human infection in an Egyptian. It is characterized by unarmed scolex, presence of two sets of reproductive systems in each proglottid, and each proglottid being very short but very broad.
Rostellum in helminthology is a protruding part of the anterior end of tapeworms. It is a retractable, cone-like muscular structure that is located on the apical end of the scolex, and in most species is armed with hooks, the organs of attachment to the host's intestinal wall. It is a parasitic adaptation in some cestodes for firm attachment in the gastrointestinal tract and is structurally different from one species to another, thereby becoming an important diagnostic feature.
Tatria minor is an endoparasitic tapeworm which infects grebes in the Palaearctic. It is common in the horned grebe in Lake Mývatn, Iceland.
Confluaria furcifera is an endoparasitic tapeworm which infects grebes in the Holarctic. It is common in the horned grebe in Lake Mývatn, Iceland and it has been reported from the great crested grebe in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand.
Confluaria islandica is an endoparasitic tapeworm which infects the small intestine of the horned grebe. It has only been found in Lake Mývatn, Iceland and as of 2021 remains endemic to Iceland.
Tatria azerbaijanica is a species of tapeworm in the family Amabiliidae. It was discovered in Azerbaijan from where it gets its name. It infects the great crested grebe and the little grebe.
Tatria skrjabini is a species of tapeworm in the family Amabiliidae.
Tatria iunii is a species of tapeworm in the family Amabiliidae.
Podilymbus majusculus is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Piacenzian age of the United States.
Podilymbus wetmorei is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Late Pleistocene age of the United States.
Podiceps dixi is a possible extinct species of grebe from the United States.
Joyeuxilepis fuhrmanni is a species of tapeworm in the family Amabiliidae.
