How do Platyhelminthes obtain food?

Each flatworm is different in terms of food consumption, but most platyhelminthes absorb nutrients by consuming them through a mouth. Food travels into a gut-type structure that holds and digests it. Once the food is broken down, the digestive system passes it all through the body.

1. What did platyhelminthes eat?
2. Do platyhelminthes have a digestive system?
3. What type of digestive system do platyhelminthes have?
4. How do phylum Nematoda get their food?
5. What do segmented worms eat?
6. How do platyhelminthes and cnidarians digest their food?
7. How do parasitic flatworms obtain nutrients?
8. How do platyhelminthes respire?

What did platyhelminthes eat?

Flatworms feed primarily on protozoa and bacteria, smaller worms and any tiny animals, dead or alive, that they encounter. Depending on the species, flatworms also consume plant materials, such as algae. Young flatworms might eat plants, but start feeding on animal matter as they mature.

Do platyhelminthes have a digestive system?

Like the cnidarians, flatworms have a digestive system with only a single opening into the digestive cavity, but in independently living marine flatworms the cavity branches into all parts of the body (Fig. 3.37 B). These flatworms feed through a pharynx.

What type of digestive system do platyhelminthes have?

Physiological Processes of Flatworms

Most flatworms have an incomplete digestive system with an opening, the “mouth,” that is also used to expel digestive system wastes. Some species also have an anal opening. The gut may be a simple sac or highly branched.

How do phylum Nematoda get their food?

Nematodes feed on organic matter, both dead and alive such as small animals including other worms, or on diatoms, algae, fungi and bacteria. Some eat plants by piercing the stem or root and sucking out the contents.

What do segmented worms eat?

Most segmented worms like the earthworm, feed on dead organic matter. Leeches (Figure below), however, can live in fresh water and suck blood from their animal host. You may have noticed many earthworms in soil. Earthworms support terrestrial ecosystems both as prey and by aerating and enriching soil.

How do platyhelminthes and cnidarians digest their food?

Cnidarians carry out extracellular digestion, where enzymes break down the food particles and cells lining the gastrovascular cavity absorb the nutrients. Cnidarians have an incomplete digestive system with only one opening; the gastrovascular cavity serves as both a mouth and an anus.

How do parasitic flatworms obtain nutrients?

Cestodes have no digestive tract; they absorb nutrients from the host across the body wall. Most other flatworms, however, have conspicuous digestive systems. The digestive system of turbellarians typically consists of mouth, pharynx, and intestine.

How do platyhelminthes respire?

Flatworms are small, literally flat worms, which 'breathe' through diffusion across the outer membrane. The flat shape of these organisms increases the surface area for diffusion, ensuring that each cell within the body is close to the outer membrane surface and has access to oxygen.