Members of the genus are responsible for taeniasis and cysticercosis in humans, which are types of helminthiasis belonging to the group of neglected tropical diseases.

They are morphologically characterized by a ribbon-like body composed of a series of segments called proglottids; hence the name Taenia (Greek ταίνια, tainia meaning ribbon, bandage, or stripe).

[5] Morphological and molecular data suggest that the divergence of Taenia specialised human parasites has been directly associated with earlier hominids and prior to the existence of modern Homo sapiens.

Ecological evidence showed that early hominids preyed heavily on one of the intermediate hosts, antelope, of Taenia, thus resulting in earlier colonization by the parasite prior to mammalian domestication.

The abundance of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa savannah in the Late Pliocene resulted in a vast food resource for hominids and other carnivorous animals such as felids, canids, and hyaenids.

This corresponds to the initial contact of the ancestral Taenia and specialize into T. solium, T. saginata, and T. asiatica, thus resulting in colonization of the early hominids as definitive hosts.