Invertebrates Codexery

Cestoda

Parasitic flatworms that live in vertebrate intestines.

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Cestoda, commonly known as tapeworms, are a class of parasitic flatworms that lack a mouth and gut, absorbing nutrients through their tegument.[1] All known species are parasites, with adult worms inhabiting the intestines of vertebrate definitive hosts.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumPlatyhelminthes
  3. ClassCestoda

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Cestoda (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Field
Parasitology
Known for
Tapeworm parasites of vertebrates
Species described
About 6,000
Largest species
Tetragonoporus calyptocephalus (over 30 m / 98 ft 5 in)
Definitive hosts
Vertebrates
Intermediate hosts
  • Insects
  • crustaceans
  • molluscs
  • annelids
  • other vertebrates

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The life cycle always involves a vertebrate definitive host and usually one or more intermediate hosts.[3] Adult eucestodes have a body plan comprising a scolex for grasping the host, a brief neck region, and a strobila made up of proglottids.[4] The scolex often takes the form of a four-sided structure equipped with suckers, hooks, or a combination of both.[5] Lipid synthesis is not possible for cestodes, so they rely completely on their host to obtain the lipids needed for reproduction.[6]

Fossilized shark coprolites from the Permian period, roughly 270 million years ago, contain identifiable clusters of cestode eggs.[7] _Rugosusivitta_, a fossil from the Early Cambrian of Yunnan, China, bears strong resemblance to modern cestodians.[8]

What the cited sources add

The "Helminth Parasites" account states that two subclasses of cestodes are differentiated by larval hook numbers: Cestodaria have 10 hooks and Eucestoda have 6 hooks.[9] The NHS Choices page notes that infection can occur through touching contaminated surfaces, ingesting soil or water with eggs, walking barefoot on contaminated soil, or eating raw or undercooked meat or fish.[10] A 2021 Loudwire article recounts that System of a Down had a major fight over the tapeworm lyric in their song "Needles".[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cheng, "General Parasitology", Elsevier Science, 2012, p. 378–444; Dalton, "Role of the tegument and gut in nutrient uptake by parasitic platyhelminths", Canadian Journal of Zoology, February 2004, p. 211–232; Ruppert, "Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition", Cengage Learning, 2004, p. 258–263; "Exploring Biology in the Laboratory", Morton Publishing Company, 2018, p. 535–536; Dalton, "Role of the tegument and gut in nutrient uptake by parasitic platyhelminths", Canadian Journal of Zoology, February 2004, p. 211–232 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ruppert, "Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition", Cengage Learning, 2004, p. 258–263; "The Persistent Parasites", 8 April 1957; Hargis, William J., "Parasitology and pathology of marine organisms of the world ocean", NOAA Tech. Rep., 1985 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ruppert, "Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition", Cengage Learning, 2004, p. 258–263; "Tapeworm infection", Mayo Clinic; Llewellyn, J., "Phylogenetic inference from platyhelminth life-cycle stages", International Journal for Parasitology, 1987, p. 281–289 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cheng, "General Parasitology", Elsevier Science, 2012, p. 378–444 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ruppert, "Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition", Cengage Learning, 2004, p. 258–263 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Common Tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum)", Mar Vista Animal Medical Center, 6 May 2012; Mondal, "Analysis of major lipid classes and their fatty acids in a cestode parasite of domestic fowl, Raillietina (Fuhrmannetta) echinobothrida", Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 2009, p. 131–137 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Tapeworm Eggs Discovered in 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil Shark faeces", ScienceDaily, 30 January 2013; Dentzien-Dias, "Tapeworm Eggs in a 270 Million-Year-Old Shark Coprolite", PLOS ONE, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Cestoda" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tang, "Enigmatic ribbon-like fossil from Early Cambrian of Yunnan, China", China Geology, 2020, p. 1–11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Helminth Parasites", parasite.org.au. facts only, no text reused. parasite.org.au
  10. "Tapeworms", NHS Choices, 19 December 2017. facts only, no text reused. nhs.uk
  11. Hartmann, "System of a Down Had a Massive Fight Over That 'Tapeworm' Lyric While Making 'Toxicity'", Loudwire, April 21, 2021. facts only, no text reused. loudwire.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Cestoda (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Phylum, Larva, Crustacean

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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