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What is another name for a flatworm?
flatworm, also called platyhelminth, any of the phylum Platyhelminthes, a group of soft-bodied, usually much flattened invertebrates. A number of flatworm species are free-living, but about 80 percent of all flatworms are parasitic—i.e., living on or in another organism and securing nourishment from it.
What is the Greek term for flatworms?
Flatworms: Phylum Platyhelminthes. The name Platyhelminthes (pronounced “plat-ee-hel-MIN-theze”) is derived from the Greek root word platy meaning flat and the Greek root word helminth meaning worm.
What is the genus of a flatworm?
Platyhelminthes
The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, platy, meaning “flat” and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), helminth-, meaning “worm”) are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates.
Why are they called flatworms?
One type of worm is the flatworm. Worms in the phylum Platyhelminthes are called flatworms because they have flattened bodies. There are more than 18,500 known species of flatworms.
What is a worm scientist called?
Hence “helminthology” is the study of parasitic worms. When a human or an animal, such as a dog or horse, is said to “have worms”, it means that it is infested with parasitic worms, typically roundworms or tapeworms.
Is a roundworm a flatworm?
The roundworms belong to the phylum Nemathelminthes or Aschelminthes. They have a thin, dorsoventrally flattened body, so called flatworms. They have a long cylindrical body, vermiform, unsegmented with no lateral appendages. They do not have a body cavity and thus are acoelomates.
How do you pronounce platyhelminthes?
Phonetic spelling of Platyhelminthes
- Platy-hel-min-thes. 1 rating rating ratings. Zander Armstrong.
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What is the life cycle of a flatworm?
Once the mating ritual is complete, a group of several hundred eggs is laid in a safe place, and after ten days, the eggs hatch. The life span of marine flatworms is generally between three weeks to three to four months long, depending on the species.
What are examples of flatworms?
Some flatworms are free-living and commonly found in freshwater habitats. Others are parasitic and often pathogenic organisms that live within other animal organisms. Examples of flatworms include planarians, flukes, and tapeworms. Ribbon worms of the phylum Nemertea have historically been considered to be acoelomates.
How are flatworms characterized?
Flatworms are invertebrates, characterized by their minute-size or flattened, unsegmented, bilateral, soft body.
What type of digestive system do flatworms have?
Flatworms have an incomplete digestive system. This means that the digestive tract has only one opening. Digestion takes place in the gastrovascular cavity. Flatworms do not have a respiratory system.