ORDER
Cyclophyllidea
FAMILY
Progynotaeniidae
TAXONOMY
Progynotaenia odhneri Nybelin, 1914, Sweden.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Body minute, 0.08–0.12 in (2–3 mm) long and 0.02–0.03 in (0.6–0.8 mm) wide, wedge-shaped. Strobila consisting of 8–12 proglottides. Scolex provided with rostellum bearing 12 rostellar hooks. Genital pores on the lateral margins of the proglottides, regularly alternating on the left and the right sides.
DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT
Parasitic in plovers, mostly in ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula) and snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). Most of the records are from seashores or salt lakes, which seem to be the macrohabitats of this parasite.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Intestinal parasite absorbing nutrients through the tegument.
BEHAVIOR
Nothing is known.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Progynotaenia odhneri is hermaphroditic. However, it does not possess a vagina. The copulation is traumatic: the heavily armed cirrus penetrates through the tegument and the parenchyma and directly inseminates the seminal receptacle. The intermediate hosts of this species are not known.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None.
