Saccosporidae is a family of

myxozoa Myxozoa (etymology: Greek: μύξα ''myxa'' "slime" or "mucus" + thematic vowel o + ζῷον ''zoon'' "animal") is a subphylum of aquatic cnidarian animals – all obligate parasites. It contains the smallest animals ever known to have lived. ...

ns... It is the only family within the

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

Malacosporea and has only three species, while the other class of Myxozoa,

Myxosporea Myxosporea is a class of microscopic animals, all of whom are parasites. They belong to the Myxozoa clade within Cnidaria. They have a complex life cycle that comprises vegetative forms in two hosts—one an aquatic invertebrate (generally an ann ...

, includes more than a thousand.

Taxonomy and systematics

*Genus ''Buddenbrockia'' Schröder, 1910 **''

Buddenbrockia allmani Saccosporidae is a family of myxozoans... It is the only family within the class Malacosporea and has only three species, while the other class of Myxozoa, Myxosporea, includes more than a thousand. Taxonomy and systematics *Genus ''Buddenbrocki ...

'' Canning, Curry, Hill & Okamura, 2007 **''

Buddenbrockia plumatellae ''Buddenbrockia plumatellae'' is a worm-like parasite of bryozoans whose taxonomic placement long puzzled biologists. It is now classified as one of only three myxozoans in the Malacosporea subclass and its only family, Saccosporidae, on the b ...

'' Schröder, 1910 *Genus ''

Tetracapsuloides ''Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae'' is a myxozoan parasite of salmonid fish. It is the only species currently recognized in the monotypic genus ''Tetracapsuloides''. It is the cause of proliferative kidney disease (PKD), one of the most serious par ...

'' Canning, Tops, Curry, Wood & Okamura, 2002 **''

Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae ''Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae'' is a myxozoan parasite of salmonid fish. It is the only species currently recognized in the monotypic genus ''Tetracapsuloides''. It is the cause of proliferative kidney disease (PKD), one of the most serious pa ...

'' (Canning, Curry, Feist, Longshaw & Okamura, 1999)

Description

Saccosporidae are parasites of fish and freshwater

bryozoans Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...

. ''Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae'', the only representative of the group whose life cycle is well studied, causes proliferative disease of the kidneys in

salmonids Salmonidae (, ) is a family of ray-finned fish, the only extant member of the suborder Salmonoidei, consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids". The family includes salmon (both Atlantic a ...

. Two stages of the life cycles of the two species in the genus ''Buddenbrockia'' are known. One of them is a saccular stage, similar to ''Tetracapsuloides''. During the second stage the animals are mobile and superficially resemble minute

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s. ''Buddenbrockia allmani'' parasitizes ''

Lophopus crystallinus ''Lophopus crystallinus'', commonly known as the bellflower animal or crystal moss animal, is the first species ever described of the genus ''Lophopus'', from the Lophopodidae family, and is the only member of the family that can be found in the ...

'', while ''Buddenbrockia plumatellae'' parasitizes, in particular, '' Plumatella fungosa''.

References

* Malacosporea Cnidarian families {{myxozoa-stub