Dipylidium caninum 6 12.jpg

Taxonomy: f. Dilepididae
Animal: Dipylidium caninum 6 12.jpg
Sites: Gut
Comment:
Dipylidium caninum adult scolex - 250 - 500 microns wide, 4 deeply cupped oval suckers and a club shaped rostellum with 30 - 150 spines arranged in 1 to 7 circlets. Each spine or hook can protrude to a length of 185 microns or be completely retracted into the scolex. The number of circlets depends on age and trauma. D. caninum is the common tapeworm of dogs and cats and occasionally humans. Cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis are the intermediate hosts. To examine: Cestodes need to be relaxed in tap water and fixed with boiling 10 percent formalin, they need to be stained with Mayers haemalum, dehydrated, cleared and mounted. Measurements are vital for id of parasites.

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