Raillietina echinobothrida
| Raillietina echinobothrida | |
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| Adult Raillietina echinobothrida | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Class: | Cestoda |
| Order: | Cyclophyllidea |
| Family: | Davaineidae |
| Genus: | Raillietina |
| Species: | R. echinobothrida |
| Binomial name | |
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Raillietina echinobothrida Mégnin, 1880 |
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Raillietina echinobothrida is a parasitic tapeworm belonging to the class Cestoda. It is the most prevalent and pathogenic helminth parasite in birds, particularly in domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus Linnaeus, 1758. It requires two hosts, birds and ants, for completion of its life cycle. It is a hermaphrodite worm having both the male and female reproductive organs in its body. The parasite is responsible for 'nodular tapeworm disease' in poultry.
The body of an adult R. echinobothrida is a characteristic tapeworm structure, composed of a series of ribbon-like body segments, gradually enlarging from the anterior end towards the posterior. It is whitish in colour, highly elongated, dorsoventrally flattened, and entirely covered with a tegument. The body can be as long as 25 cm, and generally 1-1.5 cm broad. The body is divisible into the head region called 'scolex', followed by an unsegmented 'neck', and then by highly segmented body proper called 'strobila'. The scolex bears four suckers and a rostellum, which are the organs of attachment to the host. Individual segments in the strobila are called 'proglottids' and are entirely covered with hair-like 'microtriches'. These microtriches are the absorptive structures for feeding, and there are no digestive organs. A number of testes and a pair ovaries are present in each proglottid. Each mature body segment contains 8-12 egg capsules.
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