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The apple snail is a large aquatic gastropod species that hails from South America, Central America, and southern United States. These gastropods are considered to be an invasive species as they reproduce quickly and consume large amounts of vegetation. In their natural locales, they face the threats of habitat loss […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The roundworm is the most common parasitic worm in humans. Even more so than the dreaded tapeworm. They are found in sub-tropical and tropical countries, the world over. These worms are found among soil, feces (poop), and on contaminated food. Once ingested, they get to work quickly to wreak havoc […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The whipworm is a parasitic species of roundworm that is usually obtained from eating food or drinking water that contains these worms. They can infect both animals and humans alike. These parasites can cause trichuriasis, aka whipworm disease. This results in abdominal pain, fatigue, diarrhea (often times accompanied with bloody […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The comb jelly, aka comb jellyfish, is the largest species of jellyfish-like creatures that utilizes cilia to swim. These cilia are typically referred to as combs. While they possess the name jelly, they aren’t true jellyfish. There are 208 known species of Comb Jellies, in 66 genera, and 31 families. […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in practically every freshwater and saltwater habitat in the world, including Antarctica. Some species are planktonic, while others are benthic (live on the ocean floor). While still more thrive in damp or wet soil. Due to their abundance, these critters are not […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The terrifyingly real, diminutive monster of the deep, and the stuff of nightmares, it’s the tongue-eating louse. These creatures live in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. What they do, besides haunt people’s dreams, is find their way into the mouth’s of fishes, through their gills, and there they take over. […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

There are certainly more than 1 species of mite in the world. This article will talk of mites in general. Mites belong to 2 very large categories of arachnids: Acariformes (the most diverse of the 2 suborders) and Parasitiformes (a superorder of arachnids). Mites have a simple, unsegmented body design. […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The oxpecker is a passerine bird that makes a living cleaning parasites from other animals. There are 2 species: the red-billed & the yellow-billed. These birds also harbor a dark secret. More on that in a bit. They can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa. These birds prefer grassy plains, open […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

With a world full of parasites, the tapeworm is certainly 1 of the most feared & loathed of them all. Humans and animals can be hosts to tapeworms. These creatures come with a host of falsehoods and misconceptions alike. But one thing is certain, you definitely don’t want to be […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The sea spider can be found in oceans all over the world, from the warm to the frigid. They can also be found from coral reefs to the deep ocean. And, yes, you heard that right, all you arachnophobes, spiders in the sea. But relax, these aren’t true spiders, like […]

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