List of parasitic organisms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an incomplete list of organisms that are true parasites upon other organisms. For more information on this topic, see main article: Parasitism. For information on parasitoids, see main article: Parasitoid.
Contents |
[edit] Endoparasites
(endo = within; parasites that live inside their hosts)
[edit] Plants
[edit] Parasitic worms
These can be categorized into three groups; cestodes, nematodes and trematodes. Examples include:
- Acanthocephala
- Ascariasis (roundworms)
- Cestoda (tapeworms) including: Taenia saginata (human beef tapeworm), Taenia solium (human pork tapeworm), Diphyllobothrium latum (fish tapeworm) and Echinococcosis (hydatid tapeworm)
- Clonorchis sinensis (the Chinese liver fluke)
- Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease)
- Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm)
- Filariasis
- Hookworm
- Loa loa
- Onchocerciasis (river blindness)
- Schistosomiasis
- Strongyloides stercoralis
- Toxocara canis (dog roundworm)
- Trichinella
- Whipworm
- pop soli- a worm to recive blood from humans
[edit] Fungi
- Ringworm
- Gymnosporangium and other rusts
- Pyrenophora teres
- Cordyceps
[edit] Protists (Protozoa)
- Balantidium coli (the only ciliated protozoan to infect humans)
- Giardia lamblia (the most common intestinal protozoan in the United States)
- Trichomonas vaginalis
- Naegleria fowleri (facultative parasite causing amoebic meningitis)
- Entamoeba histolytica (causes Amebiasis, common in developing countries)
- Kinetoplastid protists of the Trypanosoma and Leishmania genera (sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmania)
- Apicomplexan parasites including "Plasmodium" (malaria), "Toxoplasma" (toxoplasmosis), and "Cryptosporidia" (cryptosporidiosis)
[edit] Ectoparasites
(ecto = outside; parasites that live on but not within their hosts, for example, attached to their skin)
[edit] Plants
- Broomrape
- Cuscuta
- Mistletoe
- Strangler Fig
- Santalum, hemi-parasitic. (Sandalwoods and Quandongs)
- Toothwort
- The wood rose, Dactylanthus taylorii
[edit] Arthropoda
- Acarina (Ticks, some mites)
- Cymothoa exigua
- Hippoboscoidea
- Tsetse fly
- Lipoptena
- Sheep Keds and relatives)
- Oestridae (bot flies)
- Phthiraptera (Lice)
- Siphonaptera (Fleas)
- Tantulocarida
[edit] Annelids
[edit] Vertebrates
[edit] Parasitic organisms in fiction
[edit] Fictional endoparasites
- Black Oil
- Facehuggers, the parasite laying stage in the lifecycle of xenomorphs
- The Flood, from the video game Halo
- Goa'uld, from the TV series Stargate SG-1
- Las Plagas, from the video game Resident Evil 4.
- Lavos
- X Parasites, from the Metroid Fusion video game
- Killer parasitic worms from Slither.
- Yeerks
- Kraata
- "The Parasite" from the book Peeps (novel)
- Bone Leechs from Blood 2.
- Bulbmin from Pikmin 2.
- G.U.I.L.T. from Trauma Center: Under the Knife.
- The Wirrn, from the BBC series Doctor Who.
[edit] Fictional ectoparasites
- Unidentified Parasitic Species from the Movie Cloverfield
- Brain slugs from Futurama.
- Larval Darkbreed from the movie Darkbreed
- Headcrabs from the Half-Life series or similar brainsuckers from X-COM: Apocalypse, though these species can be considered parasitoids rather than parasites.
- The Flood from Halo. They come in three different forms: Infection Form, Combat Form, and Carrier Form.
- Krana from the LEGO Bionicle series.
- Nopal from the Jack Vance story Nopalgarth, also called The Brains of Earth.
- Puppet Masters from Robert A. Heinlein's 1951 novel The Puppet Masters.
- Shovel-Creatures, which prey on free thought from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.
- Venom from the Marvel Comics Universe.
- Metroids from the Metroid series video games
