Raillietina

Raillietina
Raillietina tetragona
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Cestoda
Order: Cyclophyllidea
Family: Davaineidae
Genus: Raillietina
Fuhrmann, 1920
Species
Diversity
37 species

Raillietina is a genus of tapeworms that includes helminth parasites of vertebrates, mostly of birds. The genus was named in 1920 in honour of a French veterinarian and helminthologist, Louis-Joseph Alcide Railliet. Of the 37 species recorded under the genus, Raillietina demerariensis, R. asiatica, and R. formsana are the only species reported from humans, while the rest are found in birds. R. echinobothrida, R. tetragona, and R. cesticillus are the most important species in terms of prevalence and pathogenicity among wild and domestic birds.