Basic Information Scientific Name: Taenia saginata
Length: 4 to 10 meters
Length: 4 to 10 meters
Taenia saginata, commonly known as the beef tapeworm, is a zoonotic tapeworm. It is an intestinal parasite and cattle are the intermediate hosts, from where it gets its common name. Larval development occurs in cattle, while humans are definitive hosts harboring the adult worms. Tapeworms have proglottids, which are segments that contain a complete set set of male and reproductive organs. Fertilization is internal, and fertilization may occur between two proglottids of the same worm. In most species of tapeworms cross fertilization between two adjacent worms is necessary. The fertilized eggs are shed continuously and leave the host's body in feces. The eggs develop into embryos which do not hatch until they are eaten by a suitable intermediate host, such as cattle in the case of the Beef Tapeworm.