Liver fluke
Fasciola hepatica Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedworms
The liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) is an invertebrate in the worms subgroup, belonging to the family Fasciolidae in the class Trematoda of the phylum Platyhelminthes. Its scientific name was given by Linnaeus, 1758, and it is placed in the order Plagiorchiida, suborder Echinostomata, superfamily Echinostomatoidea and subfamily Fasciolinae.
Quick facts about the liver fluke
Other English names for the liver fluke are Sheep liver fluke, Small liver-fluke and Common liver fluke.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 3 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the liver fluke
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the liver fluke live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the liver fluke as introduced in 1 country, and flagged as invasive in it.
- Boliviainvasive
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the liver fluke?
Fasciola hepatica, also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitic trematode (fluke or flatworm, a type of helminth) of the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects the livers of various mammals, including humans, and is transmitted by sheep and cattle to humans all over the world. The disease caused by the fluke is called fasciolosis or fascioliasis, which is a type of helminthiasis and has been classified as a neglected tropical disease. Fasciolosis is currently classified as a plant/food-borne trematode infection, often acquired through eating the parasite's metacercariae encysted on plants. F. hepatica, which is distributed worldwide, has been known as an important parasite of sheep and cattle for decades and causes significant economic losses in these livestock species, up to £23 million in the UK alone. Because of its relatively large size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species. The closest relative of Fasciola hepatica is F. gigantica. These two flukes are sister species; they share many morphological features and can mate with each other.
From the Wikipedia article “Fasciola hepatica” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fasciola_hepatica&oldid=1369614331), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the liver fluke sound like?
Is the liver fluke endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the liver fluke classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumPlatyhelminthes
- classTrematoda
- orderPlagiorchiida
- familyFasciolidae
- genusFasciola
- SpeciesFasciola hepatica Linnaeus, 1758
Other names and names in other languages (25)
- Common liver flukeEnglish
- Sheep liver flukeEnglish
- Small liver-flukeEnglish
- LewerbotAfrikaans
- motolice jaterníCzech
- LeverikteDanish
- FåreflynderDanish
- Großer LeberegelGerman
- SaguaypéSpanish
- Duela del higadoSpanish
- Grande douve du foieFrench
- MájmételyHungarian
- 肝蛭Japanese
- 간질Korean
- leverbotDutch
- motylica wątrobowaPolish
- DúviaPortuguese
- Barata-do-fígadoPortuguese
- Fascíola-hepáticaPortuguese
- SaguaipéPortuguese
- Печёночная двуусткаRussian
- motolica pečeňováSlovak
- jetrni metljajSlovenian
- större leverflundraSwedish
- ஈரல் புழுTamil
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the liver fluke
Other species in the same genus Fasciola.
CompareLiver fluke vs Giant liver flukeLiver fluke vs Distoma scabrumLiver fluke vs Fasciola californicaLiver fluke vs Fasciola capitata
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the liver fluke?
The liver fluke is an invertebrate in the worms subgroup. It belongs to the class Trematoda in the phylum Platyhelminthes.
What is the scientific name of the liver fluke?
The scientific name of the liver fluke is Fasciola hepatica, in the genus Fasciola.
Who named Fasciola hepatica and when?
Fasciola hepatica was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
What family does the liver fluke belong to?
The liver fluke belongs to the family Fasciolidae, subfamily Fasciolinae, within the superfamily Echinostomatoidea.
What other names does the liver fluke have?
The liver fluke is also called Sheep liver fluke, Small liver-fluke and Common liver fluke.
Is the liver fluke an invasive species?
In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the liver fluke as invasive in 1 country: Bolivia. It lists it as introduced in 1 in all.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/liver-fluke
“Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/liver-fluke.
@misc{liver_fluke_2026,
title = {Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/liver-fluke},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}