AnimalDiversityWebUniversityofMichiganMuseumofZoologyUniversityofMichiganHomeAboutUsAboutAnimalNamesEducationalResourcesSpecialCollectionsGlossaryBrowseAnimaliaMoreInformationAdditionalInformationEncyclopediaofLifeDipylidiumcaninumFacebookTwitterByElizabethHodgsonandEricKnappGeographicRangeHabitatPhysicalDescriptionDevelopmentReproductionBehaviorCommunicationandPerceptionFoodHabitsPredationEcosystemRolesEconomicImportanceforHumans:NegativeContributorsReferencesGeographicRangeDipylidiumcaninumisaworld-wideparasiteofdogsandcatsthatrequiresafleaintermediatehosttodevelop.Thereforeitsrangeisdependentupontheavailabilityofbothfleaandvertebratehosts,aswellastheabilitytosurviveoutsideofthehostuntilingestedbyaflea.(RobertsandJanovy,1996)BiogeographicRegionsnearcticpalearcticorientalethiopianneotropicalaustralianoceanicislandsOtherGeographicTermscosmopolitanHabitatThefirsthabitatfortheseorganismsisfecesofthedefinitivehosts,wheretheyarestilleggs.Nexttheyliveinfleas,whichaccquiretheparasitesbyeatingthefeces.Ifthefleaiseatenbyadog,thelarvalwormfindsitselfintheintestinewhereitbecomesanadultandremainstherestofitslife.Humanscanalsohosttheworms.Weaccquirethembyaccidentallyingestingfleasfromapetthathasfleascontainingjuvenileworms.(Reddy,1982)HabitatRegionstemperatetropicalterrestrialTerrestrialBiomesdesertordunesavannaorgrasslandchaparralforestrainforestscrubforestOtherHabitatFeaturesurbansuburbanagriculturalPhysicalDescriptionADipylidiumcaninumadultisalongflatworm,around40to50cm.Thebodyismadeupoftheheadorscolex,theneck,andasegmentedsectioncalledthestrobilus.Thescolexhashooksforattachment.Eachsegmentcontainstwoproglottids.Aproglottidisonesetofreproductiveorgans.Dipylidiumcaninumisoftenidentifiedbyexamingsegmentspassedinfeces.Dipylidiumcaninumhastwogenitalporeslocatedlaterallyoneachsegment,withtwoproglottidspersegment.Segmentsareoftendescribedasresemblingcucumberseeds,andarequiteactivewhenseenoutsidetheirhostsinfecalmaterial.Larvaearecalledoncospheresgenerally,butspecificallyforD.canin