Dermocystidium
Dermocystidium is a genus of cyst-forming, eukaryotic fish parasites, the causative agents of dermocystidiosis.
The genus Dermocystidium was described in 1907. It was previously thought to be a genus of fungal parasites, related to the Thraustochytrida and Labyrinthulida. Other biologists considered it to be a sporozoan protist.
It was subsequently identified as one of a group of fish parasites of previously uncertain affiliation, which were later identified as nonanimal, nonfungal opisthokonts, and renamed as Ichthyosporea, and after expansion as Mesomycetozoa. Parasites of crustacea and molluscs placed in this genus have been found to be likely a bacterium and an alveolate, respectively: Sayre, Gherna and Wergin concluded that Dermocystidium daphniae was likely identical to Pasteuria ramosa Metchnikoff, 1888, while D. marinum has been reclassified as Perkinsus marinus.
The frog parasite Dermocystidium ranae has been segregated as Amphibiocystidium ranae.
Species
Dermocystidium aegyptiacus El-Mansy 2008Dermocystidium anguillae Spangenberg 1975— a gill parasite of eelsDermocystidium branchialis Léger 1914 — a gill parasite of salmonidsDermocystidium cochliopodii Valkanov 1967Dermocystidium cyprini Červinka & Lom 1974 — a gill parasite of carpDermocystidium erschowii Garkavi, Denisov & Afanas'ev 1980— a skin parasite of carpDermocystidium fennicum Pekkarinen et al. 2003— a skin parasite of perch Dermocystidium gasterostei Elkan 1962 — a parasite of sticklebacksDermocystidium granulosum Sterba & Naumann 1970Dermocystidium guyenotii Thélin 1955Dermocystidium koi Hoshina & Sahara 1950 — a skin parasite of carpDermocystidium kwangtungensis Dermocystidium macrophagi van de Moer, Manier & Bouix 1988Dermocystidium nemachili Dermocystidium penneri Borteiro et al. 2018Dermocystidium percae Reichenbach-Klinke 1950 — a skin parasite of perch Dermocystidium pusulum Pérez 1908Dermocystidium salmonis — a gill parasite of salmonDermocystidium sinensis Dermocystidium sinipercae — a parasite of Chinese perchDermocystidium vejdovskyi Jírovec 1939 — a parasite of pike