Parasite photo ID

Identify the parasite group

Myxozoan - shares similarities to coral tentacle (also pictured)

What parasite does this poor minnow likely have?

Myxobolus - a myxozoan

This parasite was taken from the brain of an ant. What is it?

Dicrocoelium - a Trematode. This is the unencysted form of a metacercariae since it was in the brain.

What are these parasites?

Trypanosomes - particularly Trypomastigotes (the reproductive stage)

This specimen was obtained from earthworm gonads. What might the denoted structures be, and what type of parasite are you looking at? Why are they hairy looking?

Apicomplexans, particularly Monocystis. These are trophozoites. The hairy appearance is from ingested sperm (the tails protrude out)

What are the arrows pointing at? What structures are they, and what kind of parasite is it?

The top right is a mature trophozoite, the bottom left is a mature gametocyst with sporocysts. This is an Acanthocephalan (Monocystis)

What kind of parasite and what stage is the image depicting? How did the parasite get to this stage?

Monocystis, Acanthocephala. This is an immature gametocyst that occured following the mating of two mature trophozoites of opposite mating types.

What stage and type of parasite does the image depict?

Acanthocephalan (Monocystis) zygotes, with sporocysts containing 8 sporozoites. These mature gametocytes (or the sporocysts within) will be released into the soil to be ingested by a worm.