Sheep Liver Fluke

The common name of this parasite, the “sheep liver fluke,” is somewhat misleading since this parasite is found in animals other than sheep (including cattle and humans), and the parasite resides in the bile ducts inside the liver rather than the liver itself.

This species is a common parasite of sheep and cattle and, therefore, relatively easy to obtain. Thus, in introductory biology or zoology courses, it is often used as “THE” example of a digenetic trematode. This species has been studied extensively by parasitologists, and probably more is known about this species of digenetic trematode than any other.