Roundworms
Pseudocoelomates
Organization
The nematodes or roundworms comprise the phylum Nematoda. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting alot of environments. Nematode species can be difficult to distinguish; and although over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic, the total number of nematode species has been estimated to be about 1 million. Unlike cnidarians and flatworms, nematodes have tubular digestive systems with openings at both ends.
Germ Layers
These organisms are considered triploblast like human beings and are made up of three germ layers that is, endoderm, mesoderm and the ectoderm.
Symmetry
The type of symmetry that roundworms have is bilateral. They have a body that is cylindrical. Most of these species are parasitic on plants and animals.
Cephalization
Roundworms have nerve bundles on one end, but no optical receptors, making them less cephalized than flatworms.
Body Cavity
Roundworms are pseudocoelomates; while they have a body cavity, it is not composed of mesodermal epithelium and is thus not a true coelom.
Segmentation
Nematodes have bilateral symmetry with a pseudocoelom (tube within a tube) but they do not have segmentation.
Digestive System
The oral cavity is lined with cuticle, which is often strengthened with ridges or other structures, and, especially in carnivorous species, may bear a number of teeth. The mouth often includes a sharp stylet, which the animal can thrust into its prey. In some species, the stylet is hollow, and can be used to suck liquids from plants or animals.
The oral cavity opens into a muscular, sucking pharynx, also lined with cuticle. Digestive glands are found in this region of the gut, producing enzymes that start to break down the food. In stylet-bearing species, these may even be injected into the prey.
There is no stomach, with the pharynx connecting directly to a muscleless intestine that forms the main length of the gut. This produces further enzymes, and also absorbs nutrients through its single cell thick lining. The last portion of the intestine is lined by cuticle, forming a rectum, which expels waste through the anus just below and in front of the tip of the tail. Movement of food through the digestive system is the result of body movements of the worm. The intestine has valves or sphincters at either end to help control the movement of food through the body.
Circulatory System
Roundworms are one of the simplest animal groups that have a complete digestive system. Since roundworms have no respiratory or circulatory systems, they use diffusion for respiration and circulation of substances around their body.
Respiratory System
Roundworms have no circulatory or respiratory systems so they use diffusion to breathe and for circulation of substances around their body.
Excretory System
Like every animal, roundworms do too have an excretory system, where waste products or fecal matter come out through the anus. The excretory system is in the bottom of the roundworms where the nucleus, the excretory duct, excretory pare, transverse connect, anterior excretory canal, and the posterior longitudinal excretory canal are.
Nervous System
Four peripheral nerves run the length of the body on the dorsal, ventral, and lateral surfaces. Each nerve lies within a cord of connective tissue lying beneath the cuticle and between the muscle cells. The ventral nerve is the largest, and has a double structure forward of the excretory pore. The dorsal nerve is responsible for motor control, while the lateral nerves are sensory, and the ventral combines both functions. At the anterior end of the animal, the nerves branch from a dense, circular nerve ring surrounding the pharynx, and serving as the brain. Smaller nerves run forward from the ring to supply the sensory organs of the head. The bodies of nematodes are covered in numerous sensory bristles and papillae that together provide a sense of touch.
Reproduction
Most nematode species are dioecious, with separate male and female individuals. Both sexes possess one or two tubular gonads. In males, the sperm are produced at the end of the gonad, and migrate along its length as they mature. The testes each open into a relatively wide sperm duct and then into a glandular and muscular ejaculatory duct associated with the cloaca. In females, the ovaries each open into an oviduct and then a glandular uterus. The uteri both open into a common vagina, usually located in the middle of the ventral surface. Reproduction is usually sexual. Males are usually smaller than females (often much smaller) and often have a characteristically bent tail for holding the female. During copulation, one or more chitinized spicules move out of the cloaca and are inserted into the genital pore of the female. Amoeboid sperm crawl along the spicule into the female worm. Nematode sperm is thought to be the only eukaryotic cell without the globular protein G-actin.Eggs may be embryonated or unembryonated when passed by the female, meaning their fertilized eggs may not yet be developed. A few species are known to be ovoviviparous. The eggs are protected by an outer shell, secreted by the uterus. In free-living roundworms, the eggs hatch into larvae, which appear essentially identical to the adults, except for an underdeveloped reproductive system; in parasitic roundworms, the life cycle is often much more complicated. Nematodes as a whole possess a wide range of modes of reproduction. Some nematodes, such as Heterorhabditis spp., undergo a process called endotokia matricida: intrauterine birth causing maternal death. Some nematodes are hermaphroditic, and keep their self-fertilized eggs inside the uterus until they hatch. The juvenile nematodes will then ingest the parent nematode. This process is significantly promoted in environments with a low food supply. The nematode model species Caenorhabditis elegans and C. briggsae exhibit androdioecy, which is very rare among animals. The single genus Meloidogyne (root-knot nematodes) exhibit a range of reproductive modes, including sexual reproduction, facultative sexuality (in which most, but not all, generations reproduce asexually), and both meiotic and mitotic parthenogenesis. The genus Mesorhabditis exhibits an unusual form of parthenogenesis, in which sperm-producing males copulate with females, but the sperm do not fuse with the ovum. Contact with the sperm is essential for the ovum to begin dividing, but because there is no fusion of the cells, the male contributes no genetic material to the offspring, which are essentially clones of the female.
Support
They have small bristles, known as setae, which are sensing devices that can identify any soil. Roundworms only move laterally. Roundworms use their long muscles and move by thrashing themselves through their environment.