FLATWORMS

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Platyhelminthes
Ex. Planaria, flukes and tapeworms

Class Turbellaria Class Cestoda

Class Trematoda
 Introduction
• Derived from:
– Platy (Flat) and Helminthes (Worm)
• Are a group of some 34,000 described
species.
• Includes:
– Turbelarians (Free living individuals)
– Monogeans, Trematodes, Cestodes (Parasitic
80%)
 Characteristics of Platyhelminthes
• Body symmetry: bilateral
• Body organization: triploblastic (3 layers)
– Ectoderm
– Mesoderm
– Endoderm
• Body Cavity: acoelomate
Characteristics continued

• Digestive system:
INCOMPLETE, has
only mouth &
gastrovascular cavity

• Reproduction:
– Sexual:
hermaphroditic –
cross fertilization
occurs between 2
worms
– Asexual:
fragmentation
• Circulation: there are no blood
vessels, gastrovascular cavity
helps distribute nutrients to the
body.

• Nervous system:

– Cephalization (first) & nerves

– Eyespots, auricles, sensitive to

light & chemicals

• Respiration: diffusion through skin

• Excretion: tubes open to outside,

flame cells (rid of excess H2O)&
mouth
• Ecological roles:

– Parasitic

– Food source

– Eat dead animals

• saprophytes
Additional information:
Free living

ex) Planaria – freshwater

 Stores food as fat

Parasitic

Ex) flukes and tapeworms

• Lives in digestive tract & absorbs

digested food from host so, NO
digestive tract!

• This leaves more room for

reproduction – capable of producing
1,000s of eggs.
Class Turbellaria
Major Characteristic
• Live in marine environment
(benthic). (colorful)
• Some in freshwater and moist
terrestrial environment
• Outer body surface with cilia
• Rhabdites – release thick
mucus that coats the body
• Primitive but distinct brain
– Nerve (1-3 pairs)
• One or more pairs of eyes
which senses:
– Chemicals
– Pressure changes
– Mechanical stimuli
 Planaria
• Digestive System
– Fairly simple (simple mouth opening)

– No well formed gut cavity

– Protrusible pharynx

• Excretion

– Two networks of tubes

– Attached to tubes are flame cells

• Modified to work like a kidney

• Have cilia that cause excess body fluid

to move along excretory tubes and
eventually out of planaria body
Marine Flatworms
Terrestrial Flatworms
Flatworms are hermaphrodites

When flatworms encounter each other, they engage in a

60 minute ‘dance’ during which they repeatedly strike at
each other, both trying to inject their sperm under the skin
of the other worm.
 Class Trematoda

Ex: Chinese liver fluke

Fluke (liver, lung, heart, intestine)
• Parasitic

• Unciliated outer part

• Have a mouth opening and blind-ended digestive

tract.

• The parasite ingest the host’s tissues and blood.

• No need for circulation or respiratory system

– Live in tissues supplied by host’s blood

– Absorb through gastrovascular cavity

• Flame cells

• Nerve cords and anterior ganglia

– Do not have as specialized nerve cells like Planaria

• Hermaphrodites
liver fluke
Liver Fluke Life Cycle
Blood Flukes
 Class Cestoda
• AKA tapeworms
• Endoparasitic - parasites that live in the
digestive system of vertebrate animals
 Defining Characteristics
• Scolex - Small anterior hooked attachment organ

• Proglottids – Division of body into segments arising

from anterior end, behind the scolex
– Involve in sexual reproduction

– hermaphrodite

• Absence of digestive tract

• Nonciliated epidermis

• No mouth and digestive tract of its own at any point in

its life cycle.
 Tapeworm Reproduction
• Specialized body sections called proglottids
– Hermaphroditic

• Contain both ovaries and testes

• Can fertilize their own eggs

– Zygotes are passed out of host’s body with feces

– Larvae hatch in water and in grass

• Eaten by herbivore (intermediate host) – larvae then burrows

through wall of intestine and into blood stream

• Intermediate host contains tapeworm cysts (bladder worm)– when

ingested by final host (e.g. human) cyst hatches out as scolex which
then grows proglottids
Fun Facts About Tapeworms
• Some tapeworms grow quite long. One species that
parasitizes horses has been known to attain a length of 75
feet.

• Ingesting tape worms for reducing weight is a diet

routine:
• https://www.ck12.org/c/life-
science/flatworms/lesson/Flatworms-MS-
LS/
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundl
ess-biology/chapter/systems-of-gas-
exchange/