Last Updated: June 10, 2026

MORPHOLOGY: Scolex with single apical sucker. Strobila short, anapolytic to hyperapolytic. Testes numerous, in previtelline medulla. Cirrus-sac present; genital pore nearly marginal, in anterior part of proglottid. Ovary postvitelline. Vitellarium composed of 2 symmetrical lobes. Vagina opens posterior to cirrus-sac. Uterus medullary, may fill medulla; uterine pore lacking. Eggs with 3 shells.

DIVERSITY: About 6 nominal species in 2 genera.

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS: Molecular and morphological studies indicate that this order is closely related to the Cyclophyllidea and Tetrabothriidea.

DEFINITIVE HOSTS: Freshwater fishes.

SITE IN DEFINITIVE HOST: Intestine.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: Palaearctic Asia (China, Japan, Russia), Europe (imported – Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine), New Zealand.

LIFE-CYCLES: With a single intermediate host, usually a copepod. Single apical sucker present in earliest known life-cycle stages

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Selected References:

Hine P. M. 1977. New species of Nippotaenia and Amurotaenia (Cestoda: Nippotaeniidae) from New Zealand freshwater fishes. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 7 (2): 143-155. PDF

Bray, R. A. 1994. Order Nippotaeniidea Yamaguti, 1939. pp. 253-255. In Khalil, L. F., Jones, A., Bray, R. A. (Eds.) Keys to the cestode parasites of vertebrates. CAB International, Wallingford, U.K. PDF

Olson, P. D., D. T. J. Littlewood, R. A. Bray, and J. Mariaux. 2001. Interrelationships and evolution of the tapeworms (Platyhelminthes: Cestoda). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 19: 443-447 PDF

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Taxon Coordinator: