Flatworms Today

The ancestors of most animal groups were probably similar to modern flatworms (platyhelminths). Approximately 13,000 species of flatworms are found on Earth today. They are grouped in five classes:

flukes (Trematoda) - mostly parasitic

tapeworms (Cestoda) - mostly parasitic

planarians (Turbellaria) - mostly free-living

Monogenea - mostly parasitic

Aspidocotylea or Aspidobothria - mostly parasitic

Among other diseases, the flukes cause schistosomiasis in man.

For more information of flatworms, click here.