R. echinobothrida, R. tetragona, and R. cesticillus are the most important species in terms of prevalence and pathogenicity among wild and domestic birds.

[6] The scolex is a bulbous knob-like structure bearing suckers and a rostellum, which are the organs of attachment to the host.

[7] Further, an important diagnostic character among the different species of the genus is the number and arrangement of hooks and spines on the scolex.

[16][17][18] When the insect with infective larvae is ingested by birds, the cysticercoid is released in host by the action of digestive juices.

R. cesticillus is quite harmless in terms of symptoms; whereas R. echinobothrida is highly pathogenic, and causes nodular tapeworm disease under heavy infection.

Physiological symptoms include degeneration of epithelial cells, enteritis, and macrophage infiltration of lymphocyte.

[8][19] Infection is directly diagnosed by identifying proglottids in the faeces, or adult worms in the intestine upon autopsy.