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Ichthyophonus

Ichthyophonus is a genus of unicellular eukaryotic parasites of fish. They were once considered to be fungi, but phylogenetic evidence suggests they are protists related to both fungi and animals.

Last revised
Jun 7, 2026
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≈ 1 min
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Ichthyophonus
Hyphae (or germ tubes) and schizonts of Ichthyophonus hoferi
Hyphae (or germ tubes) and schizonts of Ichthyophonus hoferi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Obazoa
Clade: Opisthokonta
Class: Ichthyosporea
Order: Ichthyophonida
Family: Ichthyophonidae
Genus: Ichthyophonus
Plehn & Mulsow 1911
Type species
Ichthyophonus hoferi
Plehn & Mulsow 1911
Species1
  • Ichthyophonus gasterophilus
  • Ichthyophonus hoferi
  • Ichthyophonus intestinalis
  • Ichthyophonus irregularis
  • Ichthyophonus lotae

Ichthyophonus is a genus of unicellular eukaryotic parasites of fish. They were once considered to be fungi, but phylogenetic evidence suggests they are protists related to both fungi and animals.23

Species

  • Ichthyophonus gasterophilus (Caullery & Mesnil 1905) Sprague 1965
  • Ichthyophonus hoferi Plehn & Mulsow 1911
  • Ichthyophonus intestinalis Léger & Hesse 1923
  • Ichthyophonus irregularis Rand et al. 2000
  • Ichthyophonus lotae Leger 1925
References

References

  1. "Ichthyophonus". www.mycobank.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  2. Ragan MA, Goggin CL, Cawthorn RJ, et al. (October 1996). "A novel clade of protistan parasites near the animal-fungal divergence". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93 (21): 11907–12. Bibcode:1996PNAS...9311907R. doi:10.1073/pnas.93.21.11907. PMC 38157. PMID 8876236.
  3. Hershberger PK, Pacheco CA, Gregg JL, Purcell MK, LaPatra SE (October 2008). "Differential survival of Ichthyophonus isolates indicates parasite adaptation to its host environment". J. Parasitol. (Submitted manuscript). 94 (5): 1055–9. doi:10.1645/GE-1553.1. PMID 18576846. S2CID 32045435.