''Leucochloridium'' is a genus of parasitic
trematode
Trematoda is a Class (biology), class of flatworms known as trematodes, and commonly as flukes. They are obligate parasite, obligate Endoparasites, internal parasites with a complex biological life cycle, life cycle requiring at least two Host ( ...
worms in the order
Diplostomida
Diplostomida is an order of trematodes in the subclass Digenea. It is synonymous with Strigeatida Poche, 1926.
Families
Order Diplostomida
*Suborder Diplostomata
**Superfamily Brachylaimoidea Joyeux & Foley, 1930
***Brachylaimidae Joyeux & Foley ...
. It Is the sole genus in the family Leucochloridiidae.
[Carus, C. G. (1835). Beobachtung über einen merkwürdigen schöngefärbten Eingeweidewurm, ''Leucochloridium paradoxum'' mihi, und dessen parasitische Erzeugung in einer Landschnecke, ''Succinea amphibia'' Drap. ''Helix putri''s Linn. ''Nova Acta Physico-Medica Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum'' 17(7), 85–100.] Members of this genus cause pulsating swellings in the eye-stalks of
snail
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...
s (a phenomenon colloquially called a ''zombie snail''), so as to attract the attention of predatory birds required in the parasites' lifecycle.
Taxonomy
Species
Species in the genus ''Leucochloridium'' include:
* ''
Leucochloridium caryocatactis''
(Zeder, 1800) now in genus ''
Urogonimus''
* ''Leucochloridium fuscostriatum''
Robinson, 1948 is a junior synonym of ''L. variae''
* ''L. fuscum''
Rietschel, 1970 is a junior synonym of ''L. perturbatum''
* ''Leucochloridium heckerti''
Kagan, 1951 is a junior synonym of ''L. paradoxum''
* ''
Leucochloridium holostomum''
(Rudolphi, 1819)
* ''
Leucochloridium macrostomum''
(Rudolphi, 1803) is now in the genus ''Urogonimus'', but the name was widely misapplied to ''L. paradoxum''
* ''
Leucochloridium paradoxum
''Leucochloridium paradoxum'', the green-banded broodsac, is a parasitic flatworm (or parasitic worm, helminth). Its intermediate hosts are land snails, usually of the genus ''Succinea''. The pulsating, green broodsacs fill the eye stalks of the ...
''
Carus, 1835
* ''
Leucochloridium perturbatum''
Pojmańska, 1969 sometimes considered a synonym of ''L. variae''
* ''
Leucochloridium phragmitophila''
Bykhovskaja-Pavlovskja & Dubinina, 1951
* ''Leucochloridium sime'' Yamaguti, 1935 is likely a synonym of ''L. perturbatum''.
* ''L. subtilis''
Pojmańska, 1969 is a junior synonym of ''L. perturbatum''
* ''
Leucochloridium variae''
McIntosh, 1932
* ''
Leucochloridium vogtianum''
Baudon, 1881
See also
*
Aggressive mimicry
Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predation, predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signalling theory, signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host (biolog ...
References
External links
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Diplostomida
Digenea genera
Suicide-inducing parasitism
Articles containing video clips
{{Trematode-stub