Davaineidae Explained

Davaineidae is the name of a family of tapeworms that includes helminth parasites of vertebrates.^[1] Of the 14 genera 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) at the tip of the scolex, and the rostellum is made up of mattock- or hammer-shaped hooks. The rostellum is surrounded by suckers which are armed with spines.^[2] These tapeworms are most commonly found in birds, and in few cases, mammals, which are the definitive hosts. Intermediate hosts are small insects such as ants.^[3] Hosts of Davainea proglottina (length 1 – 4 mm), for example, are chickens. Slugs are the intermediate hosts.^[4]

Genera

• Calostaurus Sandars, 1957
• Cotugnia Diamare, 1893
• Davainea Blanchard, 1891
• Fernandezia Lopez-Neyra, 1936
• Fuhrmannetta Stiles & Orleman, 1926
• Houttuynia Fuhrmann, 1920
• Idiogenes Krabbe, 1868
• Ophryocotyle Friis, 1870
• Otiditaenia Beddard, 1912
• Paroniella Fuhrmann, 1920
• Paspalia Spasskaya & Spasskii, 1971
• Pseudidiogenes Movsesyan, 1971
• Raillietina Fuhrmann, 1920
• Skrjabinia Fuhrmann, 1920

External links

• Australian Faunal Diversity
• Web site: BioLib: Biological library.
• Web site: Family Davaineidae - Hierarchy - the Taxonomicon.
• Genus Raillietina

Notes and References

1. Schmidt, G.D. (1982). Cestoda. In: (Parker, S.P.) Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms, vol. 1. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 807-822.
2. Jones, A. & Bray, R.A. (1994). Family Davaineidae Braun, 1900. In: (Khalil, L.F., Jones, A. & Bray, R.A., eds) Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates. Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK, pp. 407-441.
3. [Satyu Yamaguti|Yamaguti, S.]
4. Mehlhorn, Heinz (1998): Grundriß der Parasitenkunde. G. Fischer Stuttgart.