Nematoda
What is a Nematoda?
They are roundworms that get their name from their round cross section. They have long thread-like bodies and are usually very small to microscopic. They consist of a simple tube-like gut with a mouth and anus. They have no circulatory system, gas exchange and excretion are by diffusion across the body wall. During sexual reproduction, sexes separate. Males are usually smaller than the females, the females of some species can deposit over 100,000 eggs per day.Nematodes are probably the commonest multicellular organism that you've never heard of and have hardly ever seen. They occur in all environments, in fresh and sea water, on land, in polar regions and in deserts. They can be found in hot springs, high up mountains and in the deepest oceans. Although there are so many free-living nematodes, they usually are microscopic and therefore unknown to all but the scientists who study them. There are however a large number of nematodes that are parasitic on a wide range of animals and plants. These parasitic forms have major economic and health influences in parts of the world where they are found.
They are roundworms that get their name from their round cross section. They have long thread-like bodies and are usually very small to microscopic. They consist of a simple tube-like gut with a mouth and anus. They have no circulatory system, gas exchange and excretion are by diffusion across the body wall. During sexual reproduction, sexes separate. Males are usually smaller than the females, the females of some species can deposit over 100,000 eggs per day.Nematodes are probably the commonest multicellular organism that you've never heard of and have hardly ever seen. They occur in all environments, in fresh and sea water, on land, in polar regions and in deserts. They can be found in hot springs, high up mountains and in the deepest oceans. Although there are so many free-living nematodes, they usually are microscopic and therefore unknown to all but the scientists who study them. There are however a large number of nematodes that are parasitic on a wide range of animals and plants. These parasitic forms have major economic and health influences in parts of the world where they are found.