The life cycle!
Here are some general features of a Flatworms life cycle. There divided into stages that most Platyhelminthes go through.
- The platyhelminth egg: Also known as a "shelled embryo." Surrounded by a capsule. The egg soon goes into the first stage of the parasite it may become surrounded by vitelline cells, which forms the food that is reserved for the egg.
- The free swimming larvae: The egg capsule opens to release the flatworms. They have larval forms emerging from the egg that differ considerably from the adult parasite.
- The first larval parasitic stages: They exhibit many forms, no reproductive cycle occurs in hosts. These parasites do not have a gut, but survive on stored food reserves or nutrients absorbed across the tegument.
- The free living adult platyhelminth: They mostly live under stones, in mud and sand, or on the surface of aquatic vegetation, generally in humid tropical regions, although some may be found in temperate regions. These free living turbellarians are mostly predacious or feeding on other dead organisms.
- The adult parasitic platyhelminth: Fully grown, responsible to reproduce, restricted to specific region.