best we can do is a Sabethes

The European Eel is one of the most widespread fish in Europe, found in freshwater ecosystems throughout most of the continent, but it’s also one of Europe's most imperiled fish. Since the 1970s the eel population has plummeted by over 90%, making it Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Talking of parasitic copepods (see yesterday’s post), this one appeared in my sample a few months back. Check out the ‘straw’ that’s as long as its body. I think this is part of its mouth that it uses to penetrate a host and suck out delicious food. Very cool! #marineplankton 🦑

I think this is awesome! This fella is a parasitic copepod from the family Pennellidae (order Siphonostomatoida). I love a parasite, and I love watching these fellas move! #marineplankton 🦑

Congratulations to Richard Hasegawa and iNaturalist on the rare Golden Gate #leech (Helobdella californica) sighting!

iNaturalist@inaturalist.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The #CityNatureChallenge results are in! Across 61 countries, over 106 THOUSAND people worked together to document their nearby nature — resulting in over 3 million new, important data points for biodiversity science and observation.

Parasites live close to (and sometimes inside) their hosts for most of their lives, so how do they approach the problems of parenthood? That’s the topic of today’s special #MothersDay post!

The Worm In The Worm: Aborjinia is a genus of nematode worm which is found in the deep sea, from ~1000 to >8000 m below sea level. The larval stages are parasites of marine invertebrates such as polychaete worms. 🧪 zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1118...

Despite its name being Latin for "false flea", Pseudopulex is a very real and very ancient #flea genus from the time of the dinosaurs!

Petra Korlević@petrathepostdoc.bsky.social · 3mo ago

ok but look at how good it printed! I was a bit skeptical because of thr Muji pen style digital pencil but it actually translates exactly how i wanted! come get yours at the @introvertebrates.bsky.social stall at Lyme Regis #FossilFestival and @dinoconuk.bsky.social

To finish #InverteFest on a high note, with the help of Buglife Scotland we'd like to discuss an ongoing and promising #conservation program aimed at a parasite that carries a long history with humanity: the European Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis)!

After highlighting our IUCN colleagues in yesterday's #InverteFest post, it's time to tell you about our own efforts with one of the flagship species of the Parasite Specialist Group and parasite #conservation as a whole: the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi)!

For today's #InverteFest post we'd like to briefly acknowledge some of the other IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) specialist groups that work on protecting other invertebrate parasite taxa and their relatives, some of which may surprise you!

Reintroductions are an indispensable tool for conservationists aiming to restore threatened species, and there exist countless examples of their success with free-living animals. However, are there any examples of this with parasites? Let us surprise you this #InverteFest with the answer: Yes!

In recent years, citizen science programs have been a boon for conservation biologists, allowing easy access to species records from around the world. On today's #InverteFest post, we'll tell you how citizen science can help in the growing field of parasite #conservation!

Before we can protect a species, we have to ask ourselves: is it threatened with extinction, and if so, why? With parasites these questions can be difficult to answer, but as you'll see this #InverteFest, there are ways we can find out.

for day 1 of the April edition of #InverteFest i'm channeling my inner @ianfay.bsky.social and drawing some biblically accurate Buzzwoles 🦟 this should all be blamed on @franzanth.bsky.social

For this April's #InverteFest, we're planning to share examples of parasite #conservation in the real world, but first we need to establish our mission: We look at three broad parasite groups: worms, insects, and arachnids. But what are these animals, and why should we care about them?

Today opens the Mollusc of the Year competition! Five molluscs are up for vote, and the winner gets its genome sequenced by Senckenberg! Today we'll make our case for a surprising parasitic #mollusc: the Mediterranean Vampire Snail (Cumia intertexta)!

The Parasite Specialist Group has published a new paper on assessing and conserving wild parasite species! The first link below is a DOI, while the second link will allow you to view and download the whole paper until May 23rd. doi.org/10.1016/j.pt... authors.elsevier.com/a/1mtNP5Eb1x...

On this #AprilFoolsDay, we'd like to highlight the biggest parasites ever discovered by far: the Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms (MUTOs), with females reaching over 90 meters in length and males reaching 81 meters!

Oukkal et al. find that, unlike endoparasitoid hymenopterans, endoparasitoidism in tachinid flies is not associated with viral domestication, possibly due to differences in venom use and host immune system avoidance. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag022 #genome #evolution #diptera #virus

One more day to vote in this round! #conservation #UproarChallenge

IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group@iucnparasites.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Indianapolis Zoo are running the Uproar Challenge, where you can vote on your favorite species to fund conservation efforts and we need your help! One of the species up for vote is the Devil's Tapeworm, a parasite exclusive to the Tasmanian Devil!

The IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Indianapolis Zoo are running the Uproar Challenge, where you can vote on your favorite species to fund conservation efforts and we need your help! One of the species up for vote is the Devil's Tapeworm, a parasite exclusive to the Tasmanian Devil!

Not A Cat (Cuterebra buccata, a gorgeous botfly which apparently parasitizes bunnies? So large I thought she was a cicada when I first sighted her, in the last shot!) 🌿🪰

At last, the dicyemid life cycle for #InverteFest! These absolute weirdos infect ONLY cephalopod kidneys; they are worms of discerning taste. 🦑🌊🐙🧪🐡

On this day of #Crustmas and #InverteFest, we're inviting you to learn about the strange and specialized crustacean parasites out there! Some will be instantly recognizable, but others are so specialized to parasitism that they don't resemble their free-living relatives in the slightest!

With the coming of the holiday season and the beginning of #InverteFest, we wanted to wish our followers Happy Holidays and highlight some reindeer parasites in the process!

Shown here is one of New Zealand's most unique and charismatic parrot species: the kākāpō, threatened with extinction by the introduction of invasive species. But the decline of this parrot also includes the decline of its unique parasites, tracked over almost 800 years.

⚡Shocking truth⚡ about fish lice: I've written a post about Dolops discoidalis, a species of fish louse which also happens to be the first ectoparasite to be documented from the electric eel 🧪 #Invertebrate dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2025/10/dolo...

<i>Dolops discoidalis</i>

The electric eel , also known as poraquê , is a formidable animal. Not only is it capable of stunning its prey with an electrifying shock, ...

dailyparasite.blogspot.com

Rhinos are some of the most beautiful and unique land animals on the planet, and the same can be said of the Gyrostigma bot flies that have adapted to them. These parasites spend most of their lives as larvae in the digestive tract of their hosts, only emerging to pupate, mate, and die. (1/6)

You probably have a general idea of what a tick looks like, but did you know that there are three distinct families of ticks, each with their own appearance, habitat, and adaptations? These families are the Ixodidae (or hard ticks), Argasidae (or soft ticks), and the Nuttalliellidae. (1/4)