 Hence they could have a greater impact in lean seasons where cockles did not grow so quickly.The cercozoan species "Marteilia cochillia" is a parasite of the common cockle, having caused a collapse in commercial harvests of cockle beds in Galicia in 2012.A survey of cockle beds in Galicia found that infestation by the gregarine parasite "Nematopsis" was widespread, and that the most common pathological finding was disseminated neoplasia.