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Phylum Platy helminthes The “flat” “worms”. www.onacd.ca. 4 Classes of Phylum Platyhelminthes. TREMATODA – flukes. CESTODA – tapeworms. MONOGENEA – small, parasitic flatworms. TURBELLARIA - small, free-living flatworms. Identifying Characteristics of the Phylum Platyhelminthes.
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Phylum PlatyhelminthesThe “flat” “worms” www.onacd.ca
4 Classes of Phylum Platyhelminthes TREMATODA – flukes CESTODA – tapeworms MONOGENEA – small, parasitic flatworms TURBELLARIA - small, free-living flatworms
Identifying Characteristics of the Phylum Platyhelminthes • Acoelomate • Exhibit bilateral symmetry • Have a bilateral nervous system with cephalization at the head end. Some species exhibit eyespots sensitive to light • Possess a Gastrovascular Cavity (GVC) and primitive organ systems for digestion and excretion • Do not have a circulatory or respiratory system but do take in O2 through their body surface (integumentary exchange) • Hermaphroditic : can reproduce sexually (do not self fertilize) or asexually by regeneration • Are motile and utilize an undulation form of motion • Found in marine, freshwater and damp terrestrial habitats
Free-living FlatwormsPlanaria : Dugesia tigrina • Freshwater, free-living flatworm • Moves by beating cilia and gliding on a film of mucus • 3-12mm in size • Have a single opening to their stomachs in the middle of their bodies • Possesses two eyespots (ocelli) that are sensitive to light • Carnivorous (eat daphnia and midges) • Common to most parts of the world • Reproduce by asexual reproduction and capable of regeneration (see next slide)
Planaria Regeneration • Planarians will spontaneously detach the tail end of their bodies and each half will regenerate into a full size flatworm • Planarians can be cut either transversally (shown above) or dorsally and most will regenerate into a full size worm Super Cool Fact: the smallest piece of planarian to ever regenerate in a lab into a new planarian was 1/279th of a planarian! That’s approximately 10,000 cells!
Parasitic FlatwormsThe pork tapeworm – Taenia solium • Infects pigs and humans • Lives in the intestine of its host and passes eggs through the feces • Highly adapted to constant internal environments • Lacks sensory organs, coordination for mobility and a digestive system (more room for reproductive structures!) • Have a modified epidermis “tegument” which protects against the digestive enzymes and the immune systems of the host • Can reach 7m in length in humans! • Are flat and long which maximizes absorption of nutrients from the host
The tapeworm “up close and personal….” • The head end has a scolex with four suckers (two seen here) that help it attach to the intestine of its host • The body is separated into sections called “proglottids” that house highly developed reproductive systems (darkened areas) capable of producing hundreds of thousands of eggs and sperm
Super cool Flatworm Fact • the largest tapeworm ever reported was in a sperm whale and was 30 meters in length! Tapeworm Scolex