What phylum does Dipylidium belong to?

Dipylidium caninum
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Cestoda
Order: Cyclophyllidea
Family: Dipylidiidae

What type of parasite is Dipylidium caninum?

Dipylidium caninum is a common tapeworm of dogs and cats, but is occasionally found in humans. It has many common names including the “flea tapeworm”, “cucumber tapeworm”, and “double-pored tapeworm”.

Is Dipylidium caninum a parasite?

FLEAS AS INTERMEDIATE HOSTS OF HELMINTHS The double-pored tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) normally develops as an adult parasite in the intestines of dogs, cats, and some wild carnivores.

What type of animals can be found in the platyhelminthes phyla?

Platyhelminthes are commonly known as flatworms or tapeworms. They are a group of soft-bodied invertebrate animals. As a matter of fact, there are around 20,000 species of these animals. A few of these live as parasites on humans and other animals.

Where is Dipylidium caninum found?

small intestine
Adult Dipylidium caninum are found in the small intestine of an infected dog or cat. They are 15 – 70 cm in length and attach to the intestinal mucosa via a scolex, which has a retractable rostellum armed with 30 to 150 small hooks and 4 suckers.

Which organism is the intermediate host for Dipylidium caninum?

or cat flea
Canids and felids are the normal hosts for Dipylidium caninum. The intermediate host is usually the larval stages of the dog or cat flea (Ctenocephalides spp.) and occasionally Trichodectes canis (the dog louse).

What disease is caused by Dipylidium caninum?

Dipylidiasis is a common tapeworm infection of dogs and cats caused by Dipylidium caninum. Linnaeus first described dipylidiasis in humans in 1758. Dipylidiasis has a worldwide distribution.

Are all Platyhelminthes parasitic?

flatworm, also called platyhelminth, any of the phylum Platyhelminthes, a group of soft-bodied, usually much flattened invertebrates. A number of flatworm species are free-living, but about 80 percent of all flatworms are parasitic—i.e., living on or in another organism and securing nourishment from it.

What is the definitive host of Dipylidium caninum?

The dog
The dog is the principal definitive host for Dipylidium caninum. Other potential hosts include cats, foxes, and humans (mostly children) (6,7). Humans acquire infection by ingesting the cysticercoid contaminated flea.