Broad+Fish+Tapeworm+(Diphyllobothrium+latum)

Broad Fish Tapeworm //Diphyllobothrium latum//

====The broad fish tapeworm has a complex life history. It begins life as a fertilized egg that is eaten by tiny freshwater crustaceans, inside which the larvae hatch. Freshwater, estuarine, and migratory marine fish, (such as salmon) become infected by the larvae when they eat either the crustaceans or other infected fish. The adult tapeworm lives in fish-eating mammals and may infect humans who eat raw fish. ====

 **Physical characteristics:** The strobila of broad fish tapeworms is about 30 feet (9 meters) long and has three thousand to four thousand proglottids. The scolex is finger shaped. **Geographic range:** Broad fish tapeworms live in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Russia, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Japan, around some lakes and large rivers in Africa, and in South America. **Habitat:** The final hosts of broad fish tapeworms are fish-eating mammals such as dogs, cats, bears, seals, and humans. The first intermediate hosts are crustaceans (krus-TAY-shuns), which are water-dwelling animals that have jointed legs and a hard shell but no backbone. The second intermediate hosts are fishes. All the hosts live in or near rivers and freshwater lakes. **Diet:** Broad fish tapeworms absorb nutrients from their hosts. [|Tapeworms: Cestoda - Broad Fish Tapeworm (diphyllobothrium Latum): Species Accounts - Hosts, Host, Larvae, Embryos, Eggs, and Crustacean - JRank Articles] [|http://animals.jrank.org/pages/1529/Tapeworms-Cestoda-BROAD-FISH-TAPEWORM-Diphyllobothrium-latum-SPECIES-ACCOUNTS.html#ixzz1YhrgnFjD] ** By: Zoe Williams and Morgan Wisdom :)﻿ **