Phylum: Plathelminthes

 

Norwegian: flatormer

(Skårøya - Sør-Trøndelag / 25 meters / 3.21.2005)

Flatworms are unsegmented worms with a tail and a head end. They are bilaterally symmetrical with a definite upper and lower surface. They do not have an anus and use the same opening for food intake and waste expel. Most species are hermaphrodites, that is they have both female and male reproduction organs.

Many flatworms are parasites, but most flatworms encountered by divers are members of the order Polycladida, a group of free-living flatworms which are mainly found in tropical waters. A few species though, are relatively common along the coast of Norway.