Macrostomum
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Macrostomum is a genus of flatworm with a worldwide distribution, with over a hundred species described to date. These hermaphroditic, free-living flatworms are usually small in size, with large species reaching up to 5 mm in body length (e.g. Macrostomum tuba). They are usually transparent, and the smaller species appear rather round in cross-section than dorsoventrally flattened.
Species
PHYLUM
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumPlatyhelminthes
- ClassTrematoda
- OrderPlagiorchiida
- FamilyLissorchiidae
via GBIF
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- Macrostomum lignano.jpg
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5 sectionsContents
- Name
- Ecology
- Species
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Macrostomum is a genus of flatworm with a worldwide distribution, with over a hundred species described to date. These hermaphroditic, free-living flatworms are usually small in size, with large species reaching up to 5 mm in body length (e.g. Macrostomum tuba). They are usually transparent, and the smaller species appear rather round in cross-section than dorsoventrally flattened.
== Name == The term "Macrostomum", meaning "big-mouthed", derives from the Greek μάκρος makros, "large", and στόμα, stoma, mouth. Relative to other turbellaria, Macrostomum species have indeed a long mouth, connected to the gut by a muscular pharynx which can expand, in certain species, to almost the width of the animal.