The only apparent active behavior of this tapeworm involves migration of juvenile stages from the gut to other parts of the host's body. The egg of the worm, which ...AnimalDiversityWebUniversityofMichiganMuseumofZoologyUniversityofMichiganHomeAboutUsAboutAnimalNamesEducationalResourcesSpecialCollectionsGlossaryBrowseAnimaliaMoreInformationAdditionalInformationEncyclopediaofLifeDiphyllobothriumlatumFacebookTwitterByDanKruseandSarahHerhilanGeographicRangeHabitatPhysicalDescriptionDevelopmentReproductionBehaviorCommunicationandPerceptionFoodHabitsEcosystemRolesEconomicImportanceforHumans:NegativeConservationStatusOtherCommentsContributorsReferencesGeographicRangeThistapewormisfoundinPalearcticandNearcticareas:inthefreshwaterlakesandstreamsofNorthAmericaandtheGreatLakes,aswellastheMediterraneanandBalticSeas.(RobertsandJanovy,2000;Vergeer,1932)BiogeographicRegionsnearcticintroducedpalearcticHabitatDiphyllobothriumlatumisfoundinandaroundfreshwaterlakesandstreams.Eachstageinhabitsadifferenthabitat.Theeggsinhabitfecalmatterfromthedefinitivehost,thelarvaelivefirstinacopepodandtheninthefleshoffish,andtheadultsinhabitmammalianintestines.(RobertsandJanovy,2000)HabitatRegionstemperatefreshwaterTerrestrialBiomesforestAquaticBiomeslakesandpondsriversandstreamsOtherHabitatFeaturesagriculturalriparianPhysicalDescriptionTheadultDiphyllobothriumlatummayreachupto12meters,increasingthroughoutitslife.Thesewhitish/yellowwormsaredorso-ventrallyflattened,andmuchmorenarrowthantheyarelong.Theyhavenooralopening,thusfeedingthroughabsorption.Thefinger-shapedscolexhasnohooks,andnarrowweakly-musculargrooves(bothria)runlongitudinallyalongthebody(scolex)(RobertsandJanovy,2000).Diphyllobothriumlatumishermaphroditic,carryingbothsetsofsexorgans(Vergeer,1932).Ineachproglottid,testesandvitellinefolliclesarefound(RobertsandJanovy,2000).Theuterusisabilobedstructurethatloops,extendingfromtheovarytotheuterineporeonthemidventralsurfaceofthesegment,throughwhichthematureproglottids(thetermforacompletesetofsexo