Platyhelminthes : The

Tapeworm

By Jan Gabrielle B. dela Cruz (Grade 8 Marangal)

Flatworms
Flatworms
(Platyhelminthes) are a
group of bilaterally
symmetrical, acoelomate,
soft-bodied invertebrate
animals found in marine,
freshwater as well as
moist terrestrial
environments.
Flatworms
• With more than 20,000
species currently
identified, the phylum
Platyhelminthes makes
up one of the largest
phyla after chordates,
mollusks, and
arthropods. On the other
hand, they make up the
largest phylum among
acoelomates.
Kingdom Animalia
• Flatworms fall under the
animal kingdom that is
characterized by
multicellular eukaryotic
organisms. In some
classifications, they are also
classified under the basal
animal clade Eumetazoa
since they are metazoans
that fall under the animal
kingdom.
Bilateria
• Flatworms also fall under
Bilateria in Eumetazoa. This
classification includes
animals with bilateral
symmetry consisting of a
head and tail (as well as a
dorsal part and belly).
Protostomia
• As members of this clade,
flatworms comprise three
germ layers. As such, they
are also often referred to as
protostomes.
General Characteristics
• Flatworms are bilaterally
symmetrical organisms with
multicellular bodies that display
organ grade organization
• They are triploblastic organisms
with three embryonic germ
layers that include the ectoderm
(outermost germ layer)
mesoderm (central germ layer)
and endoderm (innermost germ
layer)
General Characteristics
• Their bodies are typically soft
• They lack both an endo and
exoskeleton. Instead, only some
parts such as the hooks, spines
and teeth and hardened
• Apart from attachment organs
such as hooks and suckers,
flatworms also secrete adhesive
secretions from two main glands
namely; the eosinophilous and
cyanophilous gland
General Characteristics
• Lack a true body cavity
• The digestive tract is completely
absent
• Their nervous system, for the
most part, is primitive (ladder-
like)
 Classifications

Turbellaria Monogenea

Cestoda Trematoda
Class Turbellaria
• composed of about 3,000 species
of organisms spread across at least
10 orders. While a majority of
these species live in marine
environments, there are many
others that can be found in
freshwater environments as well
as tropical terrestrial and moist
temperate environments. As such,
they require at least moist
conditions to survive.
Class Turbellaria
• Depending on the species,
members of class Turbellaria
either exist as free-living
organisms or parasites. For
instance, members of the order
Temnocephalida exist as
either entirely commensals or
parasites.
Class Turbellaria
• One of the best examples of a free-
living (opportunistic) species in this
order is the Temnosewellia minor. In
their environment, emnosewellia minor
use their strong suckers to attach onto
crayfish (at the tail section) from where
they feed on various smaller organisms
like protozoa wherever the fish goes. As
such, they do not cause harm to the
crayfish and only depend on the
crayfish for transport and stirring up
environments with food sources.
Characteristics
• As worms, they have an elongated
boy that is relatively soft. The
body is also have tapered at both
ends with reduced thickness
compared to the central part of
the body.
• With a compressed dorso-
ventral body section, Turbellaria
species have a high surface area to
volume ratio.
Characteristics
• For a majority of the species,
locomotion is achieved through the use
of well-coordinated cilia that
repeatedly flap in one direction. These
cilia are located on the secreted mucus
trail and therefore conveniently located
for movement purposes. For some of
the species, however, movement is
achieved through the rhythmic
contraction of muscles.
• They are not segmented
Class Monogenia
Though they are grouped in a
different class to trematodes, class
Monogenea has been shown to
have many similar traits to
trematodes. However, they can be
easily differentiated from
trematodes and cestodes by the
fact that they possess a posterior
organ known as a haptor.
Class Monogenia
• Monogeneans vary in size and shape. For
instance, whereas larger species may appear
flattened and shaped like a leaf (leaf-shaped)
the smaller ones are more cylindrical. Rather
than an oral sucker, monogeneans have a
large posterior adhesive disk known as
opisthaptor that makes it possible to attach to
the host. This structure consists of hooks that
enhance attachment. Using these structures,
monogeneans are well able to attach to such
animal parts as fins, gills as well as the oral
cavity from where they can feed off the outer
epidermal layer of the host.
Class Monogenia
• The head of monogeneans at the
anterior region may contain
eyespots with pigments. This
region of the body also has an oval
shaped pharynx that is poorly
developed.
Characteristics
• They are hermaphrodites - All members
of class Monogenea are
hermaphrodites. As such, they possess
both male and female reproductive
organs (testis and ovary) that are
located at the central part of the body.
Fertilized eggs are directly released in
water where they hatch to produce
free-swimming larva. To complete their
life cycle, the larva infects a host as
they develop to continue the cycle;
Monogeneans do not have
intermediate hosts in their life cycle.
Characteristics
• They use adhesive organs known as
haptors to attach to the host. This
structure also consists of suckers,
clamps or anchors.
• Although they have specific body
shapes depending on the species, they
have been shown to be capable of
elongating/shortening their bodies as
they move in their environment
Characteristics
• They lack a respiratory and circulatory
system but have a nervous system
consisting of a nerve ring and nerves
that extend to the posterior and
anterior part of the body
• As parasites, monogeneans often feed
on the skin cells mucus as well as the
blood of the host which causes damage
to the mucous membrane and skin that
protects the animal (fish). These
infections can also affect other organs
of the host including the gill tissue
Class Cestoda
• Class Cestoda is composed of over
4,000 species commonly known as
tapeworms. Typically, cestodes are
internal worms (endoparasites) that
require more than one host for their
complex life cycles.
• Compared to the other types of
flatworms, cestodes are characterized
by their long flat bodies that can grow
up to 18 meters long consisting of
many reproductive units (proglottid).
Characteristics
• A complex life cycle - The body of
true tapeworms consists of many
segments known as proglottids.
Each of the proglottids contains
both a male and female
reproductive structures (as
hermaphrodites) that are capable
of reproducing independently.
Characteristics
• Given that a single tapeworm can
produce as many as a thousand
proglottids; this allows tapeworms to
continue thriving. For instance, a single
proglottid is capable of producing
thousands of eggs, their lifecycle can
continue in another host when the
eggs are ingested.
Characteristics
• Here, the host that ingests the eggs is
known as the intermediate host given
that it is in this particular host that the
eggs hatch to produce
a larvae (coracidium). The larvae,
however, continues to develop in the
second host (definitive host) and
mature in the adult stage.
Characteristics
• They lack a digestive system -
Compared to the two other classes of
flatworms, tapeworms lack a digestive
system. Instead, the surface of their
bodies are covered by small microvillus-
like projections similar to those found
in the small intestine of many
vertebrates.
Characteristics
• Through these structures, tapeworms
effectively absorb nutrients through
their outer covering (tegument). For
this reason, a majority of tapeworms
can be found in the small intestine of
many of their hosts where they can
easily obtain nutrition.
Characteristics
• They have well-developed muscle.
• Modified cilia on their surface are used
as sensory endings.
• The nervous system is made up of a
pair of lateral nerve cords.
Subclass Cestodaria
• Members of this subclass (about 15
species) are unsegmented and can be
found in the intestine (or body cavity in
some cases) of primitive fish.
Cestodaria species are characterized by
a single set of the reproductive organ
(either male or female), suckers, they
lack a digestive system as well as
parenchymal muscle cells. This subclass
consists of the following orders;
Amphilinidea, Caryophyllidea, and
Gyrocotylidea.
Subclass Cestodaria
• The majority of cestodes belong to this
subclass and are referred to as true
tapeworms. The body of these
organisms is divided into scolex
(containing suckers and/or hooks), a
neck as well as a strobila that consists
of a series of units known as
proglottids. For members of this
subclass, the proglottids play an
important role in reproduction.
Class Trematoda
• They have separate sexes that can live in
blood for a number of years
• They have oral suckers as well as ventral
suckers that make it possible for the
organisms to attach on to the host. This makes
feeding easier for the organisms.
• Adult flukes can be found in the liver or the
circulatory system of the host
• They have a well developed alimentary canal
and excretory system,
• They have a well developed muscular system
Subclass Cestodaria
• Subclass Aspidogastrea consists of about 80
species that exist as parasites of both marine
and freshwater mollusks and vertebrates such
as fishes.
• A complex nervous system
• Varying sensory receptors
• Host specificity is low
• They can survive for long periods of time
outside the host
• They are considered archaic trematodes
Subclass Cestodaria
• Compared to subclass
Aspidogastrea, subclass Digenea is
a significantly large group
consisting of well over 18,000
nominal species spread across
approximately 150 families. They
have a more complex life cycle
that requires one or more
intermediate hosts (mollusk) as
well as a definitive host
(vertebrates).
Subclass Cestodaria
• Species of subclass Digenea can be
found in virtually all vertebrate
classes and cause a range of
animal and human diseases
(schistosomiasis etc).
• Mouth part with a sucker as well
as a ventral sucker
• They are regarded as syncytial
animals
Thank
you!