Leucochloridium is a genus of parasitic trematode worms in the order Diplostomida. 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 putris 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 snails (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 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
References
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