Question

Is a hookworm a flatworm?

Answer 1

Earthworms are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida, which has about 9,000 species and three groups. Freshwater worms (including earthworms) belong to the Oligochaeta class; marine worms belong to the Polychaeta class, and leeches belong to the Hirudinea class. There are a few features that all annelids have that help to define the phylum.

Complete answer:
No, both are different, Hookworm, also known as Ancylostoma, is a roundworm that belongs to the phylum Aschelminthes, which also includes Ascaris, Wuchereria, and other parasitic worms. They are dioecious and pseudocoelomates. Flatworms are members of the Platyhelminthes phylum.

Flatworms (phylum Platyhelminthes) and roundworms (phylum Nematoda) are distinguished by their structure, mode of motility, digestive systems, and ways of harming humans. Despite the fact that both species are named worms, they are not related.

The body of a flatworm is slender and dorsoventrally flattened. Roundworms have a more cylindrical shape, with one end tapering to a fine point. Roundworms, too, have a stiff outer coating called a cuticle, which they shed multiple times throughout their lives and as they grow. Flatworms don't have this; instead, their bodies are covered in cilia, which are hairlike growths. A flatworm's gliding mobility is propelled by many small cilia on its body's outer surface. Roundworms, on the other hand, have longitudinal muscles that contract to bend their bodies in a thrashing action (directed longitudinally down the worm). Flatworms are found in bodies of water, but roundworms can exist in both water and soil.

Flatworms are acoelomates, meaning they lack a body cavity. The flatworm has a gastrovascular cavity with only one aperture that serves as both the mouth and the anus. Roundworms are psuedocoelomates, which means they have a cavity between the mesoderm and endoderm layers of their bodies. The roundworm has a complete digestive system, with two separate mouth and anus openings. Some flatworm species are hermaphroditic, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs. Their reproductive processes are likewise a little rudimentary. Roundworms, on the other hand, have males and females that are separate.

While free-living flatworms and roundworms are abundant, parasitic variants of both flatworms and roundworms cause sickness in humans. Blood flukes are flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, which is the world's second leading cause of disease and mortality after malaria. Lung flukes and liver flukes are two other disease-causing flatworm parasites. Ascaris, a huge intestinal worm that may grow to the size of a pencil, as well as hookworms and whipworms, are all disease-causing roundworms.

Note: All annelid bodies are divided into metameres, which are serially separated segments. The metameres are separated by annuli, which are circular grooves on the outside of their bodies. All of the major organ systems are represented in each segment. Annelids are bilaterally symmetrical, which means that if you cut the animal in half horizontally, each half will appear to be a mirror copy of the other.