What are some of the largest parasites?

The largest roundworm known was reported in 1951; it's a parasite of the placenta of sperm whales and was reported from the Kuril Islands. It was named Placentonema gigantissima. Males allegedly reach 3. read more

The largest roundworm known was reported in 1951; it’s a parasite of the placenta of sperm whales and was reported from the Kuril Islands. It was named Placentonema gigantissima. Males allegedly reach 3.75 meters in length and 8–9 mm in width; females max out at 8.4 meters in length (that’s 27.5 feet long, folks) and 2.5 cm (about an inch) in width. read more

The parasites enter a host fish through the gills and set up camp here to mature. A female then crawls out from the gills and secures herself onto the tongue of the fish. Here's the part where it gets seriously messed up. read more

First, knowing how much some animals love to eat shit, Luey lies in wait in his fecal puddle until the vacuum cleaner of nature, more commonly known as the snail, comes around to slurp it up. Once inside the snail, Luey enacts the next part of his ingenious plan. read more