Key to Australian Freshwater and Terrestrial Invertebrates

Phylum Platyhelminthes

Common name: flat worms

Platyhelminthes are bilaterally symmetrical, soft-bodied and unsegmented animals, and are known as the �flatworms� because they are often dorso-ventrally compressed. There are over 1000 described species in Australia, but the true diversity is likely to be much higher. Although the taxonomy of the Platyhelminthes is poorly resolved, they can be divided into four basic groups for identification purposes. The Turbellaria are free-living animals that inhabit aquatic or moist terrestrial environments, whilst the other three groups of Platyhelminthes (Trematoda, Monogenea, Cestoda) are entirely parasitic.

Geoplanaria sugdoni, in Tasmania, Australia
Image credit: Kristi Ellingsen
used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical license

Clonorchis sinensis, a human liver fluke
Image credit: Marc Perkins
used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical license

Cura pinguisa very common species in Australia
Image credit: � Lauryne Grant
used with permission

Gyratrix hermaphroditus
Image credit: Christopher Laumer
used under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Taenia taeniaeformis
Image credit: Ondrej Zicha
used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license

Temnacephala
Image credit: Photographer: Erich S. Volschenk
� Western Australian Museum

References and further information

ABRS Australian Faunal Directory: Platyhelminthes
Atlas of Living Australia: Platyhelminthes
Encyclopedia of Life: Platyhelminthes
Tree of Life: Platyhelminthes

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Australia License.