Davaineidae is the name of a

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

tapeworms 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 man ...

that includes

helminth Parasitic worms, also known as helminths, are large macroparasites; adults can generally be seen with the naked eye. Many are intestinal worms that are soil-transmitted and infect the gastrointestinal tract. Other parasitic worms such as schi ...

parasites Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s. Of the 14

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

recorded under this family, '' Raillietina'' is the best understood and most extensively studied. Members of the family are characterized by the presence of a crown (

rostellum The rostellum is a projecting part of the column in Orchidaceae flowers, and separates the male androecium from the female gynoecium, commonly preventing self-fertilisation. In many orchids, such as ''Orchis mascula'', the pollinia or pollen masse ...

) at the tip of the

scolex 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 man ...

, and the rostellum is made up of mattock- or

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

-shaped hooks. The rostellum is surrounded by suckers which are armed with spines. These tapeworms are most commonly found in

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, and in few cases,

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

, which are the definitive hosts.

Intermediate hosts In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...

are small

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

such as

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s. Hosts of '' Davainea proglottina'' (length 1 – 4 mm), for example, are chickens. Slugs are the intermediate hosts.Mehlhorn, Heinz (1998): ''Grundriß der Parasitenkunde''. G. Fischer Stuttgart.

Genera

* '' Calostaurus'' Sandars, 1957 * '' Cotugnia'' Diamare, 1893 * '' Davainea'' Blanchard, 1891 * ''

Fernandezia ''Fernandezia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains about 30-40 species, native to northern South America, Central America, and southern Mexico.Dressler, R.L. 2003. Orchidaceae. En: Manual de Plantas de ...

'' Lopez-Neyra, 1936 * '' Fuhrmannetta'' Stiles & Orleman, 1926 * ''

Houttuynia ''Houttuynia'' is a genus of two species in the Saururaceae native to Southeast Asia. One species, '' H. cordata'', is widely cultivated as a culinary herb. The genus was originally described in 1783 by Carl Peter Thunberg when he formally d ...

'' Fuhrmann, 1920 * '' Idiogenes'' Krabbe, 1868 * '' Ophryocotyle'' Friis, 1870 * '' Otiditaenia'' Beddard, 1912 * '' Paroniella'' Fuhrmann, 1920 * ''

Paspalia Davaineidae is the name of a family of tapeworms that includes helminth parasites of vertebrates. Of the 14 genera recorded under this family, '' Raillietina'' is the best understood and most extensively studied. Members of the family are charact ...

'' Spasskaya & Spasskii, 1971 * '' Pseudidiogenes'' Movsesyan, 1971 * '' Raillietina'' Fuhrmann, 1920 * '' Skrjabinia'' Fuhrmann, 1920

References

External links

Australian Faunal Diversity
* Vicipaedia * *
Genus ''Raillietina''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3384957 Animal parasites of vertebrates Cestoda Platyhelminthes families