Diphyllobothriidea is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cestoda Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of ...

(tapeworms). Members of this family are gut

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

of vertebrates. In most species the definitive hosts are marine or aquatic mammals such as cetaceans and

pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammal, marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant family (biology ...

s, the first intermediate host usually being a

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

and the second intermediate a fish. The genus '' Diphyllobothrium'' is found as an adult in mammals and fish-eating birds, including the domestic cat. The genus ''

Spirometra ''Spirometra'' is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs th ...

'' tends to have a land-dwelling or semi-aquatic vertebrate as its second intermediate host, with the adults usually occurring in felines.

Genera

The

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialis ...

lists the following genera:- *'' Adenocephalus'' Nybelin, 1931 *'' Baylisia'' Markowski, 1952 *'' Baylisiella'' Markowski, 1952 *'' Dibothriocephalus'' Lühe, 1899 *'' Diphyllobothrium'' Cobbold, 1858 *'' Flexobothrium'' Yurakhno, 1989 *'' Glandicephalus'' Fuhrmann, 1921 *'' Ligula'' Bloch, 1782 *'' Multiductus'' Clarke, 1962 *'' Plicobothrium'' Rausch & Margolis, 1969 *'' Pyramicocephalus'' Monticelli, 1890 *'' Schistocephalus'' Creplin, 1829 *''

'' Faust, Campbell & Kellogg, 1929 *''

Tetragonoporus ''Tetragonoporus'' is a genus of cestodes in the order Pseudophyllidea. It is a monotypic genus, and the only species is ''Tetragonoporus calyptocephalus'', previously known as ''Polygonoporus giganticus''. This tapeworm is a gut parasite of wha ...

'' Skryabin, 1961

References

Platyhelminthes families Cestoda {{Cestoda-stub