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FLATWORMS. By Majela Fonseca & Franco Figueroa. Introduction . The flatworms are scientifically known as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes . From the worms group, flatworms are the simplest. They are free living or parasitic . The three main types are: Tapeworms, flukes, planerians .
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FLATWORMS By Majela Fonseca & Franco Figueroa
Introduction • The flatworms are scientifically known as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes.From the worms group, flatworms are the simplest. They are free living or parasitic. The three main types are: Tapeworms, flukes, planerians.
Morphology • They are made of three layers. • They are soft-bodied invertebrate animals. • They don’t have a body cavity. • They get rid of waste through the same opening it takes food in because it has a combination digestive/excretory. • They have a bilateral symmetry. • They also have a simple nervous system with two nerve cords running down either side. • They don’t have a respiratory system but they take in oxygen.
Life Cycle • Most Flatworms have both female and male reproductive organs. • During sexual reproduction, two worms join and deliver sperm to each other. • Then, the eggs are laid • In asexual reproduction, fission occurs. • The organ splits in two, and each half become a grown organism.
Groups of Flatworms • They have three main types: Turbellarians, Flukes, and Tapeworms. • Turbellarians are free-living flatworms, and live in fresh or marine water. • Flukes are parasitic flatworms and infect the internal organs. • Tapeworms are parasitic worms that live in the intestines of their host. They are long and flat. They are adapted to life inside the intestines.
Human Uses • The planarian EndeavouriaSepetemlineata, a non-parasitic flatworm, is used to control the giant African land snail.
Effect of Humans • More than half of flatworms’ species are parasitic. • Some of them cause severe diseases to human and affect their livestock. • It causes Schistosomiasis, also know as snail fever. It is one of the most dangerous parasitic diseases in tropical countries, after Malaria. • This diseases have a low mortality rate, but usually are chronic illness that affect internal organs. • It also causes losses of stocks in fish farms.