Phylum Platyhelminthes

Platy flat
helminthes" for worms
Platyhelminthes = Flat Worms
Platyhelminthes phylum containing about 20,000 species of soft-
bodied, bilaterally symmetrical, invertebrate animals, commonly called
flatworms.
Platyhelminthes are mostly worm like creatures that are dorsoventrally
flattened, this is why they are called names such as Tapeworm, Fluke
and Planarian.
The Platyhelminthes have a definite congregation of sensory organs and
nervous tissues at one end of their body giving them a distinct head and
tail.
They also have distinct upper and lower (dorsal and ventral) body
surfaces.

They usually have a recognizable head, which houses gravity and light-
receptive organs, and eye spots.
Most flatworm species live in fresh and marine waters, although some live
on land.

Characteristics of Platyhelminthes

1 . Have unsegmented bodies that are flattened dorsoventrally.

2. Bilaterally symmetrical.
3. Body having 3 layers of tissues - the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm with
organs and organelles.

4. Body contains no internal cavity.

5. They are free living and parasitic.

6. The head region contains light sensitive organs called ocelli.

7. Possesses a blind gut.

8. Has Protonephridial excretory organs instead of an anus.

9. They may be covered by a protective cuticle or by microscopic hairs, called cilia.

10. Reproduction mostly sexual as hermaphrodites

11. Their internal organs are comprised of a nervous system,
usually hermaphrodite sexual organs, and an excretory system.

12. They lack circulatory and respiratory systems and have only one opening that
serves both as their anus and mouth.

13. They have external suckers and hook.

3 Classes of Platyhelminthes

1. CLASS TURBELLARIA

There are about 4,500 species, which range from 1 mm (0.039 in) to large
freshwater forms more than 500 mm (20 in) long or terrestrial species which
can reach 600 mm (24 in) in length.

The mostly free-living, primarily carnivorous, flatworms of class Turbellaria are

characterized by a soft epidermis that is ciliated, at least on the ventral
surface.

All the larger forms are flat with ribbon-like or leaf-like shapes, since their
lack of respiratory and circulatory systems means that they have to rely
on diffusion for internal transport of metabolites.

Many of the smaller forms are round in cross section.

Most are predators, and all live in water or in moist terrestrial environments.

Most forms reproduce sexually and with few exceptions all are simultaneous
hermaphrodites.

Many turbellarians clone themselves by transverse or longitudinal

division, and others, especially acoels, reproduce by budding.

All turbellarians are simultaneous hermaphrodites, having both female and

male reproductive cells, and fertilize eggs internally by copulation.

Some of the larger aquatic species mate by penis fencing, a duel in which
each tries to impregnate the other, and the loser adopts the female role of
developing the eggs.

Turbellarians are generally divided into five groups based primarily on

differences in the form of the digestive cavity, a structure that is readily
observable through the transparent body wall.

5 Groups of Class Turbellaria

1. Acoels
 , the most primitive turbellarians, have no digestive cavity. Most species
measure less than 1/8 in. (3 mm) in length.
2. Rahbdocels
have straight, unbranched digestive cavities.
3. Allocoels
were formerly classified together with the rhabdocoels; the gut can be
either saclike or branched
4. triclads
also known as planarians, are relatively large flatworms named for their
three-branched gut. Most species range from 1/8 in. (3 mm) to about 1 in.
(2.5 cm) in length.
Planarians have more sense organs and a more complex brain than the
other turbellarians.

Planarian Sexual Reproduction

Planarian worms possess both testes and ovaries, and can produce both
sperm and eggs. However, sexual reproduction occurs when one flatworm
transfers sperm via the penis duct to the seminal receptacle in the recipient
flatworm.
The recipient's egg is fertilized in the seminal receptacle, and transferred
outside the body into the planarian worm's liquid environment. Typically the
egg is attached to a surface in the liquid by way of a thin mucous filament.
Not all planarian worm species can undergo sexual reproduction; some
species are exclusively asexual.

Asexual Reproduction
Planarian asexual reproduction, or regeneration, occurs when the flatworm
experiences an injury that splits the worm. Planarian worms can be cut into as
many as 1/279th of the original body plan and regenerate into fully-formed
genetic copies.
The remarkable ability of the planarian worm to regenerate is owed to about
20% of the adult planarian body being made up of pluripotent stem cells,
which can become any type of adult tissue.
Planarian worms do not need to be fully cut in half in order to regenerate. In
fact, a split head or tail can result in a double-headed or double-tailed
flatworm and the organism will survive.

The group of turbellarians known as polyclads tend to be larger (12

in./2.55 cm) and more oval-shaped than the triclads. Their bodies are
extremely flat and leaflike, and the gut is subdivided into numerous
branches. Many are brightly colored and some have ruffled edges. Some
species have numerous eyes scattered over the front end of the body.
Class Tremadora

The parasitic flatworms of class Trematoda, also called flukes, have oral
suckers, sometimes supplemented by hooks, with which they attach to
their vertebrate hosts.
Trematodes have retained the same body form and digestive cavity as the
turbellarians.
The organism is capable of producing huge numbers of offspring.
Many species, such as the liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) and the
blood fluke (Schistosoma), cause serious diseases in humans.

Class Cesstoda

The body of the cestodes, also known as tapeworms, has lost the typical
turbellarian form. Although there are a few unsegmented species, the bulk
of a typical cestode body consists of a series of linearly arranged
reproductive segments called proglottids.

There is no mouth or digestive system; food is absorbed through the

cuticle.
The body of an adult tapeworm is virtually a reproductive factory. Behind a
small securing knob, called a scolex, which bears a circle of hooks or
other attachment organs, the proglottids constantly bud off and gradually
enlarge.
 As they mature they become filled with male and female reproductive
organs. Cross-fertilization takes place with adjacent worms or neighboring
proglottids; in some cases self-fertilization occurs.
Tapeworm species that infest human intestines as adults include Taenia
saginata, the dwarf tapeworm (Hymenolepsis nana), and the fish
tapeworm, (Diphyllobothrium latum) which can reach lengths of up to
50 ft (15 m).

FISH TAPEWORM

DWARF TAPEWORM