Phylum Platyhelminthes

Nature is the most significant example of diversification where several species survive by various means. The plant world, humans and the animal kingdom are the three essential parts of life on earth. The survival of all three parts depends directly or indirectly on nature. The domain Animalia has several varieties of beautiful creatures which prove their contribution on earth in their way. Some of them fix themselves with hosts to reach an adult form for their entire life. One such free-living parasite is Platyhelminth, which lives on earth with various breeds.

Definition:

The animal kingdom has insects, worms, animal parasites and other creatures. All these varieties are different from each other . For example, the Platyhelminth is a type of flatworm which is symmetrical in the bilateral form and flat in the dorsoventral form of appearance. This organism is a type of acoelomate which is free-living and found in the parasitic form. This means they are the type of predators and need the host’s tissue for survival; excluding their crossbreeds, they have over 1300 varieties and species. All the species do not fall under the parasitic form of the breed. Some of them are the chain worms which may reproduce asexually in budding format. The Platyhelminth creates their two lineages:

• Catalina
• Rhabditophora

These both lineages follow the Phylum Platyhelminthes characteristics but differ in the function of reproduction. The Catenulida form the chain worms, which occupy the small clan of 100 species in the complete count. These chain worms follow the budding rule to reproduce by the asexual method. In contrast, the remaining species follow the parasitic properties under the Rhabditophora. These are the free-living flatworms that generally occur in parasitic form. They are triploblastic and symmetrical in the bilateral format. Their appearance is like a leaf because they are dorsoventrally flat in shape. The Platyhelminthes lie under their survival tricks and living formats. In the body format, they undergo respiratory functions through their skin. They have an asymmetric organization of the body parts. The unique thing in the Platyhelminth is that they lack the presence of a digestive tract in their body. The uniqueness further continues by flame cells, self-regeneration, and self-fertilization quality. These creatures complicate their lifestyle by their gender equation as both male and female organs are present in the single body of Platyhelminth.

Body structure:

The body structure of the Phylum Platyhelminthes forms a complex system with lots of variation in each species that falls under this category. The body of Platyhelminth appears like a leaf because of its flat dorsoventral formation. The body format also gets long, up to 10-15 meters and bilateral symmetry form. These creatures do not have a digestive system and follow the respiratory system through their skin and follow the diffusion process by the same. These creatures fall under the category of hermaphrodites, which in Platyhelminth include the organs of male and female in a single body. These organisms have the quality to reproduce sexually and asexually in both formats. Some Phylum Platyhelminthes characteristics have the chain worm functioning, which can be produced by the budding process. The rest of them reproduce naturally by the internal fertilization process. Special flame cells are present in these organisms that help them in the osmoregulation process and act as the excretory system. The nervous system of Platyhelminth forms a ladder-like structure that consists of the nervous system chords and the brain. The lifestyle style of these creatures follows more than one larval stage because of which they lead a complex life throughout their life.

Classification:

The classification of Platyhelminth takes place on a huge scale. Some of them are extremely threatening to the human cycle on earth. These types base their body type, functioning and sustainability in a particular environment. There are three basic types:

Turbellaria:

• These are free-living organisms that lack parasitic properties. These organisms have the unique capability to reproduce. Another thing is that the worms can grow themselves through a single strand of their body
• They are primarily found in water, and their body forms a flat surface in a dorsoventral manner. Some of their types are Otoplana, Planaria

Trematoda:

• These are the most parasitic form of Platyhelminth among all the species under this category. They require a minimum of two host tissues to grow completely into their adult form. These organisms include hookers and suckers in large amounts of their forms
• These are the flukes that are predominantly responsible for various diseases in humans. These organisms follow the complex life cycle and reproduce in primary and secondary forms through the host. Fasciola hepatica and the Diplozoon are the most common examples which follow the Phylum Platyhelminthes

Cestoda:

• These are the highly parasitic tapeworms. These worms reside in the intestine of their primary host. They fix themselves as the prime suckers to survive and grow into their adult forms
• Large numbers of suckers and hookers are present in this type of Platyhelminth. They contain the flame cells and thus make their excretory system work remaining in the intestine of their host. They are present highly in the tropical environment. Taenia and Convoluta are typical examples of Cestoda

Conclusion:

Nature has a vast range of species that act abstractly. The species of Phylum Platyhelminth act have hookers and suckers for leading their lifestyle. As they are in parasite form, they need a host to survive. The Platyhelminth lives their entire life without a digestive tract and a ladder from the nervous system. The bilateral symmetry and series of flat dorsoventral make them look long, around 10-15 meters. Various diversities in a single body with multiple functions make it a unique member of the kingdom Animalia. Though they are dangerous for the human life cycle, the study of body formation and survival is an exciting form.