Kingdom Animalia

Diversity in the Living World

Kingdom Animalia - Introduction

Trocophore Larva

Kingdom Animalia >

Worm

Kingdom Animalia is a very diverse kingdom in Whittakers Five Kingdom classification. It has
evolved from the Kingdom Protista that includes unicellular prokaryotic organisms. Kingdom
Animalia consists of multicellular eukaryotic organisms and is further sub-divided into a number
of Phyla based on a number of criteria such as number of germ layers or tissue layers in the
body wall, grade of organisation, presence of body cavity or coelom, segmentation and
presence of notochord. Considering these criteria, there are about ten recognised phyla. The
first among these is Porifera, which includes the simple multicellular forms with no tissue grade
of organisation and Phylum Coelenterata that comprises diploblastic animals having two tissue
layers in the body wall. These are followed by all the other phyla that comprise triplobalstic
animals.

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Kingdom Animalia
Objectives
At the end of the session, you will be able to:
List the salient features of phylum platyhelminthes
Provide examples for platyhelminthes
List the salient features of phylum nematoda
Provide examples for nematodes
Differentiate a flatworm from a round worm
List the salient features of phylum annelida
Provide examples for annelids
Identify an annelid

Kingdom Animalia >

Phylum Platyhelminthes The Flat Worms

Salient Features
T1. Habit & Habitat
Dorsoventrally flattened body; hence called flatworms
Mostly endoparasitic in animals including human
beings
Bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic and acoelomate
animals with organ level of organisation
T2. Digestion & Nutrition
Alimentary canal is either absent or very simple
Hooks and suckers in some parasitic forms help to
absorb nutrients from the host directly through their
body surface

G1
Worm

G2
Digestive
System

Let us study about some of the salient features of Phylum Platyhelminthes, the flat worms.
Phylum Platyhelminthes includes all the flat bodied animals that possess a dorsoventrally
flattened body. They mostly live endoparasitically, within the bodies of men and animals. The

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Kingdom Animalia
animals included in this phylum are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic and lack a coelom,
showing organ level of organisation having well developed organs for nutrition, digestion,
excretion and reproduction.
With regard to digestion and nutrition, the alimentary canal is a simple one but absent in most
forms that are endoparasites. There are hooks and suckers around the mouth in parasitic forms
to help in absorbing nutrients from the host directly through the body surface.

Phylum Platyhelminthes The Flat Worms

Salient Features (Contd.)

T1: Coordination, Excretion & Osmoregulation
Unique ladder-like nervous system with a brain
Specialised f lame cells help in excretion and osmoregulation
T2: Reproduction

Sexes are not separate

Fertilisation is internal
Development through many larval stages
High regeneration capacity is seen in some. Example: Planaria

G2
Reproductive
System

G1

Excretory
System

The co-ordination of the activities of the body in Phylum Platyhelminthes is taken care by a
unique ladder-like nervous system with a brain. Excretion and osmoregulation are performed
through specialised cells called flame cells.
The animals are hermaphroditic, as sexes are not separate and fertilisation is internal. The
development takes place through a number of larval stages. The power of regeneration is great
and the maximum level of regeneration is seen in the case of Planaria.
Let us learn about the classification of the Phylum Platyhelminthes in detail.

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Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Platyhelminthes The Flat Worms

Classification

Platyhelminthes
(Based on body
forms)

Turbellaria
( flatworms)

Trematoda
( flukes)

Kingdom Animalia > Phylum Platyhelminthes

Cestoda
(tapeworms)

The Platyhelminthes have a diverse assemblage of animals. Based on body forms, this phylum is
subdivided into three classes. They are Turbellaria, which includes all the flatworms which are
mostly free-living, Trematoda, which includes the flukes like the liverfluke and Cestoda, which
comprises tapeworms that are common intestinal parasites in men and animals. To have a
better understanding of the different classes, we will do a comparative study of the three
classes.

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Kingdom Animalia
The three classes of the Phylum Platyhelminthes can be studied based on criteria like habit,
body segmentation, nature of epidermis, suckers and hooks, digestive system, reproduction and
lifecycle. With respect to habit, except for Turbellaria the other two classes are ectoparasitic or
endoparasitic. Body segmentation is present only in Cestoda, while a syncytial or ciliated
epidermis is seen only in Turbellaria.
Suckers are absent in Turbellaria and hooks are present only in Cestoda. Digestive system in
Turbellaria and Trematoda is incomplete and absent in Cestoda. All three classes are
hermaphroditic and the lifecycle is simple in Turbellaria. It is complex with larval stages in
Trematoda and Cestoda.
An example of turbellaria is Dugesia, whereas for trematoda, it is Fasciola, which is also called
Liver fluke. An example of Cestoda is Taenia, commonly called Tape worm. We will be covering
the description of the representative forms under the different classes of the phylum,
subsequently.
Phylum Platyhelminthes The Flat Worms

A Few Examples

Common Planaria
(Dugesia)

Chinese liver fluke

(Opisthorchis
sinensis)

Blood f luke
(Schistosoma
haematobium)

Sheep liver f luke

(Fasciola hepatica)

Human liver f luke

(Clonorchis sinensis)

Dog tape worm

(Echinococcus
granulosus)

Bee tape worm

(Taenia saginata)

Pig tape worm

(Taenia solium)

Kingdom Animalia > Phylum Platyhelminthes

You can see the structure of the common Planaria which is also referred to as Dugesia. The
chinese liverfluke that is scientifically called Opisthorchis sinensis, the blood fluke that is
referred to as Schistosoma haematobium, the common sheep liver fluke common in India called
Fasciola hepatica, the human liver fluke Cionorchis sinensis, the dog tape worm Echinicoccus
granulosus, the bee tape worm taenia saginata and the pig tape worm Taenaia solium, which
normally affects man through the ingestion of improperly cooked pork. Thus there are a wide
variety of forms belonging to Phylum Platyhelminthes which live in many common organisms.
This suggests the importance of this phylum.

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