Parasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them.
Ectoparasites (fleas, lice, ticks) live outside; endoparasites (tapeworms, flukes) live inside. Parasites often have complex life cycles with intermediate hosts, high reproduction and specialised attachment organs.
Parasites often manipulate hosts. Hosts evolve resistance. Parasitism is extremely common.
Remember: definitive hosts hold the adult parasite.
Parasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them.
Parasitism in Animals is one of the 53 topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity. It is rated Intermediate, so it suits learners who already know the core vocabulary. Related topics in this area include Flatworms, Germ Layers, Vertebrates and Invertebrates.
Toxoplasma gondii can alter rodent behaviour.
Work through the Beginner topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity first, such as Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Sponges, then return to Parasitism in Animals. Intermediate topics assume the Beginner vocabulary.
The closest topics to Parasitism in Animals are Flatworms, Germ Layers, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Animal Excretion. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Parasitism in Animals. To practise the whole of Zoology & Animal Diversity, use the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz.
Parasitism in Animals: Parasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them. Flatworms: Soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetric worms with no body cavity, including tapeworms and flukes. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Flatworms and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetric worms with no body cavity, including tapeworms and flukes.
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