''Aspidogaster conchicola'' is a

trematode Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive host ...

parasite of the

Aspidogastrea The Aspidogastrea (Ancient Greek: ' “shield”, ' “stomach/pouch”) is a small group of Trematoda, flukes comprising about 80 species. It is a Subclass (biology), subclass of the Trematode, trematoda, and sister group to the Digenea. Specie ...

subclass that commonly infects

freshwater clam Freshwater bivalves are one kind of freshwater mollusc, along with freshwater snails. They are bivalves that live in fresh water as opposed to salt water, which is the main habitat type for bivalves. The majority of species of bivalve molluscs l ...

s. It has not been well studied since it is of little economic or medical importance, but ''A. conchicola'' and its fellow aspidogastreans are of significant biological importance since they may represent a step between free-living and parasitic organisms.

Morphology

''A. conchicola'' has a large ventral

opisthaptor The haptor is the attachment organ of the monogeneans, a group of parasitic Platyhelminthes. The haptor is sometimes called opisthaptor (from ''opistho-'': behind) to emphasize that it is located in the posterior part of the body, and to differe ...

that extends most of its body's length, which is divided into sections called

alveoli Alveolus (; pl. alveoli, adj. alveolar) is a general anatomical term for a concave cavity or pit. Uses in anatomy and zoology * Pulmonary alveolus, an air sac in the lungs ** Alveolar cell or pneumocyte ** Alveolar duct ** Alveolar macrophage * ...

loculi Loculi ( sc, Lòcula) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northeast of Nuoro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 538 and an area of . ...

. It also possesses a longitudinal

septum In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

, a horizontal layer of muscle and connective tissue that separates the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Th ...

compartments of the body. The tegument is similar to that of other parasitic

flatworm The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegment ...

Life cycle

''Aspidogaster conchicola'' infects many species of

freshwater bivalve Freshwater bivalves are one kind of freshwater mollusc, along with freshwater snails. They are bivalves that live in fresh water as opposed to salt water, which is the main habitat type for bivalves. The majority of species of bivalve molluscs l ...

s belonging to several families, as well as

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

s, many species of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

es of several families, and freshwater

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

s. Hosts include: ''

Sinanodonta woodiana ''Sinanodonta woodiana'', the Chinese pond mussel, Eastern Asiatic freshwater clam or swan-mussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Distribution * indigenous in Eastern A ...

''.Pavljuchenko, O. V. (2005). "The first record of the helminth ''Aspidogaster conchicola'' (Aspidogastrea) in ''Sinanodonta woodiana'' (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from Ukraine". ''Vestnik Zoologii'' Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Vol. 39(3): page 50.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2237903 Aspidogastrea Animals described in 1827