Beef Tapeworm (Taenia saginata)

…a species of parasitic tapeworm that is common in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Americas. Beef tapeworms typically parasitize cattle and are usually ingested while the cattle are grazing. Once inside the host digestive enzymes will break through the shell of the egg and allows the formation of the zygotes called oncospheres. These zygotes penetrate the digestive tract and enter the circulatory system. This is where the larval stages form a pea-sized fluid filled cysts known as ‘Cysticercus bovis’. Humans then can contract the larvae by eating under-cooked beef. Once inside a human digestive enzymes will break down the cyst and release the larvae who sport an inverted scolex and attach to the intestines. After a while the segments (proglottids) will detach and get passed to the environment via feces completing the cycle.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Platyhelminthes-Cestoda-Cyclophyllidea-Taeniidae-Taenia-T.saginata

Images: Nathan Reading and Unknown