Life Science Encyclopedia

This is a 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.

Endoparasites

(endo = within; parasites that live inside their hosts)

Plants

• Rafflesia

Arthropoda

• Acarapis woodi
• Sacculina

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

Fungi

• Ringworm
• Gymnosporangium and other rusts
• Pyrenophora teres
• Cordyceps

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)

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
• 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.

Ectoparasites

(ecto = outside; parasites that live on but not within their hosts, for example, attached to their skin)

Plants

• Broomrape
• Cuscuta
• Mistletoe
• Santalum, hemi-parasitic. (Sandalwoods and Quandongs)
• Toothwort
• The wood rose, Dactylanthus taylorii

Arthropoda

• Acarina (Ticks, some mites)
• Cymothoa exigua
• many Hippoboscoidea (Tsetse Flies, Sheep Keds, and relatives)
• Oestridae (bot flies)
• Phthiraptera (Lice)
• Siphonaptera (Fleas)
• Tantulocarida

Annelids

• Hirudinea (some leeches)

Vertebrates

• Candiru (Vampire fish of Brazil, really a facultative parasite)
• Lampreys

Fictional ectoparasites

• Brain slugs from Futurama.
• 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