Fasciolidae

Taxobox
name = Fasciolidae

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image_caption = "Fasciola hepatica" - adult worm
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Platyhelminthes
classis = Trematoda
subclassis = Digenea
ordo = Echinostomida
familia = Fasciolidae
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision =
*"Fasciola"
*"Fascioloides"
*"Fasciolopsis"
*"Parafasciolopsis"
*"Protofasciola"See text

Fasciolidae is a family of trematodes and includes several veterinary and medical important parasites. Family Fasciolidae is divided into 5 genera. Flukes of the family are localized in liver, gall bladder, and the intestine. The life cycle of fasciolid flukes includes one intermediate host – freshwater snails from family Lymnaeidae.Jurášek, V., Dubinský, P., 1993. Veterinárna parazitológia. Príroda a.s., Bratislava, 382 pp.]

Morphological features

*length of adults: 2 ("Parafasciolopsis") up to 10 cm ("Fasciola gigantica", "Fascioloides magna")
*suckers: oral and ventral sucker are closely located
*cercariae: gymnocephalic shape [Pybus, M.J., 2001. Liver flukes. In: Samuel, W.M., Pybus, M.J., Kocan, A.A. (eds.), Parasitic diseases in wild mammals, Iowa State Press, Iowa City, pp 121–149.]

Sytematics within family

According to Olson "et al." 2003 [Olson, P.D., Cribb, T.H., Tkach, V.V., Bray, R.A., Littlewood, D.T.J., 2003. Phylogeny and classification of the Digenea (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda)1. Int. J. Parasitol. 22, 733-755.] the family has five genera:
*"Fasciola"
**"F. hepatica" – Common liver fluke
**"F. gigantica"
**"F. jacksoni"
**"Fasciola" spp. – Japanese strain
*"Fascioloides"
**"F. magna"
*"Fasciolopsis"
**"F. buski"
*"Parafasciolopsis"
**"P. fasciomorphae"
*"Protofasciola"
**"P. robusta"

References