Specimen image via iDigBio
Macrostomum
Sign in to saveAlso known as Axia (Macrostomidae)
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
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 159
- With media
- 2
- Family
- Macrostomidae
- Collections
- NMV
- Recorded in
- Australia
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Macrostomidae
- Image
- Macrostomum lignano.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- taxon name
- Macrostomum
- taxon rank
- genus
- topic's main category
- Category:Macrostomum
- Commons category
- Macrostomum
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Name
- Ecology
- Species
- References
- External links
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Macrostomum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.