Flatworm Vocabulary

Proglottids

individual sections of tapeworms

Strobila

the region of a tapeworm just behind the scolex that contains reproductive structures called proglottids

Scolex

the anterior head region of a tapeworm that contains suckers and hooks

Protonephridia

a tube-like nephridia with a closed bulb at one end and an opening to outside at the other end

Flame Cell

a cell with a tuft of beating cilia that functions to bring water and wastes into the canals if the protonephridia

Osmoregulators

animals that maintain the osmotic difference between their body fluid and the surrounding environment

Cerebral Ganglion

a rudimentary brain

Auricles

spike-like projections on the side of the head of turbellarians that contain chemoreceptors

Statocysts

sensory structures that allow an organism to orient to gravity

Ocelli

discs of pits of photoreceptor cells that allow the animal to respond to light

Penis Fencing

a reproductive behavior in hermaphroditic flatworms in which the first male to successfully pierce the skin of another flatworm becomes the male of the mating pair and delivers its sperm to its mate (the loser of the fight assumes the female role)

Summer Eggs

a type of turbellarian egg that possesses a thin shell and hatches rapidly

Winter Eggs

a type of turbellarian egg that possesses thick, resilient shells, which are capable of withstanding cold and desiccation

Photoreceptors

receptors that detect the presence of light

Totipotent

possessing cellular plasticity in which a cell is capable of changing form and function