Tapeworms · Cyclophyllidea · Taeniidae

Beef Tapeworm

Taenia saginata

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

Taenia saginata is a parasitic flatworm of the class Cestoda, whose adult forms live in the first portions of the human small intestine, where they normally reach 4 to 12 m in length. It causes a disease called taeniasis, whose intermediate stage takes place in cattle, in which it produces a generally symptomless infestation, located in the animal's musculature.

Size

4 m – 10 m

Lifespan

25 years

Diet

Detritivore

Feeds on dead organic matter as it decomposes.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

GrasslandSolitary Grassland Worm Detritivore

Fun facts

GeneralIt can exceed 10 m in length, hooked to the gut by its scolex.
It has no mouth and no gut: it absorbs already-digested nutrients directly through its tegument, which is covered in microvilli like those of its host's intestine.
Its body is a chain of segments called proglottids; those at the far end, loaded with tens of thousands of eggs, detach and leave with the faeces under their own power.
It anchors itself with a minute head, the scolex, furnished with four suckers but no hooks, a detail that distinguishes it from the far more dangerous pork tapeworm.
It can exceed ten metres in length inside the intestine, and live there for more than twenty years.
It has no mouth and no digestive system: it absorbs already-digested nutrients directly through its body surface, which is covered in microvilli.
Its body is a chain of segments called proglottids, each with a complete reproductive system of its own. Those at the end, loaded with eggs, break off and pass out in the faeces.
Unlike the pork tapeworm, it does not cause cysticercosis in humans: its larvae encyst only in cattle.
It is contracted by eating raw or undercooked beef, and veterinary inspection of carcasses is the main barrier.