Flatworms
- Page ID
- 2901
This laboratory exercise covers the following animals. You should learn this classification scheme and be able to classify the animals into these categories.
Phylum: Platyhelminthes (Flatworms)
Class: Turbellaria (planarians)
Class: Trematoda (Flukes)
Class: Cestoda (Tapeworms)
Read "Flatworms" in the lecture notes.
Planarians
1. Place a living planarian on a watch glass and observe its movements under a dissecting microscope. Look for the eyespots, auricles, gastrovascular cavity, and pharynx.
Click here: VIDEO - Planarian movement
2. Planarians cannot see images but they can tell the direction of light with their eyespots. Cover 1/2 of the watch glass with aluminum foil. Does the planarian favor the light area or the dark area?
3. View a slide of a preserved planarian and note the eyespots, auricles, gastrovascular cavity, and pharynx.
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| Planarian anterior end X 40 | Planaria digestive tract mid section X 40 | Planarian c.s. X 40 |
Liver Flukes
Observe either a preserved liver fluke or a slide of a liver fluke using a dissecting microscope.
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| Sheep liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) stained | Liver fluke (preserved) |
Tapeworms
1. View a preserved tapeworm (Taenia).
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| Taenia (preserved) |
2. View slides of Taenia. Locate the scolex. View a gravid (filled with eggs) proglottid.
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| Taenia pisiformis anterior end. | Taenia pisiformis mid regiion | Taenia pisiformis posterior end |
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| Taenia scolex X 40 | Taenia solum gravid segment |