P L A T Y H E L M I N T H E S

dorsoventrally flattened, leaf like or tapelike. It is without true segments

rhabdites

Rod shaped structures, the _________________, are present in the epidermal cells of the living Platyhelminthes. They are protective and used in food capture.

hydro skeleton

The fluid in the parenchymal network maintains the body shape. It is called __________________

flame cells (solenocytes/protonephridia)

It consists of peculiar ___________________________________ which are meant for excretion and osmoregulation.

ladder-like

The nervous system is _______________. It consists of the brain and two main longitudinal nerve cords connected at intervals by transverse commissures.

hermaphrodite

These animals are generally _________________, and the reproductive organs are well developed. The fertilization is cross and internal. In tapeworms self fertilization is found. Asexual reproduction by transverse binary fission occurs in some flatworms.

organs

Flatworms (Platyhelminthes) generally represent this level having ___________ such as eyespots and reproductive organs, but their reproductive organs are organized into level 5 an organ system.

Bilateral Symmetry

- This means there is only one plane of symmetry (one way you can slice the animal in half and produce two pieces that are mirror images of one another).

Tripoblastic

composed of three fundamental cell layers

acoelomates

Their shape comes from the fact that they, unlike earthworms, have no coelom (otherwise known as a fluid-filled body cavity). Therefore, Platyhelminthes are ____________________