Leucochloridium

Leucochloridium is genus of parasitic flatworms.

Parasitism
Leucochloridium first starts as an egg in bird droppings. They hatch into cilliated larvae called miracidia. They then infect a snail that is living near the water. In the digestive system, they ascend to the next larval stage as cercariae. The cercariae then gather into sporocyste tubes, and then push into the optical tentacles of the snail. The tubes appear as pulsating patterns so they can attract a bird to eat them. After the bird eats the sporocyste tube, the larva mature into adults and reproduce, and the cycle begins once again. 

Species
Species in the genus include


 * Leucochloridium paradoxum
 * Leucochloridium macrostomum