Selected Wildlife Trematodes

Abstract

The trematodes are a species-rich group of parasites, with some estimates suggesting that there are more than 24,000 species. However, recent interests on the biology of trematodes of wildlife indicate that the taxonomic status and nomenclature of many of the previous species descriptions of wildlife trematodes throughout the world are confusing and difficult to decipher. In this chapter, we review work on selected trematodes of amphibians, birds, mammals, and their snail intermediate hosts, in the hope of providing a tool kit on how to study trematodes of wildlife. We provide a brief introduction to each group of wildlife trematodes, followed by some examples of the challenges each group of trematodes has relative to the goal of their identification and understanding of their biology and interactions with their wildlife hosts.

Keywords: Amphibian parasites; Bird and mammal parasites; Cryptic species; Life cycles; Trematodes; Wildlife.