Worms!

Here we’re going to discuss the differences between three types of worms; flatworms, roundworms, and segmented worms. The word “worm” is not, in fact, a scientific name. It’s an informal way of classifying animals with long bodies and no appendages (no including snakes). They are bilaterally symmetrical (the right and left sides mirror each other). Worms live in salt and fresh water, on land, and inside other organisms as parasites.

The differences between the three types of worms we will discuss depend on the possession of a body cavity and segments. Flatworms have neither a body cavity nor segments. Roundworms only have a body cavity, and segmented worms have both a body cavity and segments.

Flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes) have incomplete digestive systems. That means that their digestive system has only one opening. The gas exchange occurs on the surface of their bodies. There are no blood vessels or nervous systems in flatworms. Some are non-parasitic, like the Sea flat worm, and some are parasitic, like the tapeworm.

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