Soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetric worms with no body cavity, including tapeworms and flukes.
Phylum Platyhelminthes. Acoelomate, with flame cells for osmoregulation. Free-living planarians regenerate; parasitic flukes and tapeworms have complex life cycles with intermediate hosts.
Flatworms have a single opening to the gut and bilateral symmetry. Parasitic species have attachment organs and complex life cycles.
Remember: planarians are used to study regeneration.
Soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetric worms with no body cavity, including tapeworms and flukes.
Flatworms is one of the 53 topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity. It is rated Beginner, so it suits learners who are starting out in biology. Related topics in this area include Parasitism in Animals, Roundworms, Cnidarians.
Schistosoma flukes cause schistosomiasis in millions.
Flatworms is a Beginner topic, so no earlier topic is required. Other Beginner topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity that pair well with it include Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Sponges.
The closest topics to Flatworms are Parasitism in Animals, Roundworms, Cnidarians, Sponges. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Flatworms. To practise the whole of Zoology & Animal Diversity, use the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz.
Flatworms: Soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetric worms with no body cavity, including tapeworms and flukes. Parasitism in Animals: Parasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Parasitism in Animals and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Parasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityUnsegmented worms with a complete digestive tract, including parasitic hookworms.
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🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversitySimple aquatic animals lacking true tissues that filter feed through pores.
🦁 Zoology & Animal Diversity