10 Fun Facts about Flatworms

Fun Facts about Flatworms tell the readers about a phylum of invertebrates, which have soft and unsegmented body. It is often called as Platyhelminthes. Flatworms do not have any body cavity. The respiratory and circulatory organs of flatworms are not specialized. Diffusion is conducted by flatworms to make sure that the nutrients and oxygen can pass the body. Therefore, they have to sport the flattened shape on the body. Let us get other unique facts about flatworms below:

Fun Facts about Flatworms 1: the digestive cavity

The digestive cavity features one opening.  That is why the continuous process on the food cannot be conducted. The removal of digested food and the intake of food are applied on this opening.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 2: division

Flatworms have four members. They are trematoda, cestoda, turbellaria and monogenea according to the traditional medicinal texts.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 3: predators

You have to be careful with the free-living flatworms. Most of them live as predators.

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Fun Facts about Flatworms 4: habitat

Flatworms occupy various places in the world. You can find them in humid terrestrial environments. It is also common to spot them living in the shaded areas and watery areas.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 5: the complex life cycles

The complex life cycles of flatworms are observed on flukes or trematodes and tapeworms or cestodes. They live as parasites on the land vertebrates or fish by occupying the digestive systems during their mature stages. The secondary host will be infested too during the intermediate stages.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 6: parasitic animals

Human beings and livestock can be infected by the flatworms because of their parasitic nature.  One of the prominent causes of epilepsy is due to the infection of Neurocysticercosis, which affects central nervous system.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 7: the risk

The risk of having flatworm infection is higher for the people who live in the developed countries because of the imported foods, light cooked food and raw food.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 8: Colors

some flatworms have brights colors like green, red and blue.

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Fun Facts about Flatworms 9: the planarian species

Giant African snail Achatina fulica has been introduced in Hawaii, Indonesia, Philippines, Guam and New Guinea to control the population of flatworms.

Fun Facts about Flatworms 10: classification

Flatworms are divided in four groups. They are Cestoda, Monogenea, Trematoda and Turbellaria.  The latter one has the length measured from 0.039 inch to 24 inches. It consists of 4,500 species.  Most of them are nocturnal.

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