Galactosomum

{{Short description|Genus of flukes}} {{Automatic Taxobox |image= |taxon=Galactosomum |authority=Looss, 1899 }}

'''''Galactosomum''''' is a genus of flukes in the family Heterophyidae. There are currently 28 recognised species within the genus. They mainly infect aquatic birds, but often infest fish as larvae.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hoffman|first=Glenn L.|title=Parasites of North American Freshwater Fishes|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=512 East State St., Ithaca, NY 14850|year=1999|chapter=Some North American Fish Parasites Listed by Location in the Fish|isbn=0-8014-3409-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZU5iqP3NJpMC&dq=Galactosomum+fish+parasite&pg=PA11|page=[https://archive.org/details/parasitesofnorth00hoff/page/11 11]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/parasitesofnorth00hoff/page/11}}</ref> Three species are known to use marine mammals as hosts.

==Description== The excised spherical metacercaria is 2.7–4.9 mm long.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kamegai|first=S. |author2=N. Yasunaga |author3=S. Ogawa |author4=S. Yasumoto|year=1982|title=''Galactosomum sp''. from intestine of ''Larus carassirostris'' from Nagasaki, Japan|journal=Jpn. J. Parasit.|pages=31|language=Japanese}}</ref> Generally, only one is found per fish.<ref name="Kimura">{{cite journal|last=Kimura|first=M.|author2=Endo, M.|year=1979|title=Whirling disease caused by metacercaria of a fluke|journal=Fish Pathol.|volume=13|pages=211–213|language=Japanese|doi=10.3147/jsfp.13.211|issue=4|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Life cycle== Some species of ''Galactosomum'' cause infected fish to swim closer to the surface and colorfully flash their underbellies.<ref name="fishparasite">{{cite web|url=http://fishparasite.fs.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Galactosomum%20sp/Galactosomum-eng.html|title=Database of Parasites in Fish and Shellfish|accessdate=2008-07-03}}</ref> In fish, symptoms can be similar to those of whirling disease caused by the unrelated parasite ''Myxobolus cerebralis''.<ref name="Kimura" /> Gastropods hosting select species suffer from sensory impairment due to infestation. This makes these prey animals more likely to be consumed by aquatic birds, providing a host for the parasite to reach the mature stage of its life cycle. ''Galactosomum'' cannot survive in human hosts.<ref name="fishparasite" />

==Species== *''Galactosomum baylisi'' (Gohar, 1930) *''Galactosomum bearupi'' Pearson, 1973 *''Galactosomum cochlear'' (Diesing, 1850) Travassos, 1929 *''Galactosomum cochleariforme'' (Rudolphi, 1819) Pratt, 1911 *''Galactosomum darbyi'' Price, 1934 *''Galactosomum dollfusi'' Pearson, 1973 *''Galactosomum echinatum'' (Timon-David, 1955) *''Galactosomum erinaceum'' (Poirier, 1886) *''Galactosomum fregatae'' (Prudhoe, 1949) *''Galactosomum humbargari'' Park, 1936 *''Galactosomum johnsoni'' (Price, 1934) *''Galactosomum lacteum'' (Jägerskiöld, 1896) *''Galactosomum linguiforme'' Anantaraman, 1974 *''Galactosomum nicolai'' (Isaichikov, 1927) *''Galactosomum palawanense'' Fischthal & Kuntz, 1972 *''Galactosomum phalacrocoracis'' Yamaguti, 1939 *''Galactosomum puffini'' Yamaguti, 1941 *''Galactosomum renincola'' Pearson, 1973 *''Galactosomum sanaense'' Kobayashi, 1942 *''Galactosomum semifuscum'' (Olsson, 1876) *''Galactosomum sinuilactis'' Pearson, 1973 *''Galactosomum spinetum'' (Braun, 1901) *''Galactosomum stelleri'' Dailey, Demaree & Critchfield, 2002 *''Galactosomum timondavidi'' Pearson & Prévot, 1971 *''Galactosomum ubelakeri'' (Dailey, 1969) Pearson, 1977 *''Galactosomum ussuriense'' Oshmarin, 1963 *''Galactosomum witenbergi'' Anantaraman, 1974 *''Galactosomum yehi'' (Dissanaike, 1961) Pearson, 1973

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links==  {{WoRMS|title=Galactosomum|id=108610}}

Category:Heterophyidae Category:Suicide-inducing parasitism Category:Plagiorchiida genera