Problem

Threatened species of Platyhelminthes

Other Names:
Flatworms under threat of extinction
Threatened species of Platyhelminths
Endangered species of flat worms
Nature:

The platyhelminthes are a group of wormlike soft-bodied animals comprising about 25,000 species. They have no body cavity or special respiratory structures and respiration occurs throughout the body surface. The gut usually has only one opening which serves as both mouth and anus. The majority are parasitic, including the flukes (class Trematoda), the monogeneans (class Monogenea) and the tapeworms (class Cestoda), but there is a fourth class, (Turbellaria) which consists of about 4,000 free-living species. Many platyhelminths are dorso-ventrally flattened which accounts for their common name, flatworm.

Very little information is available concerning survival threats to platyhelminthes, as it is very difficult to obtain population estimates. Water pollution seems to pose the largest threat.

Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
GOAL 15: Life on Land
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems
Date of last update
23.09.2020 – 22:08 CEST