Aspidogastrea

views updated

Aspidogastrea (Aspidogastraea; phylum Platyhelminthes) A class, or in some classifications an order of Trematoda, of parasitic worms in which the gut, pharynx, intestine, and ventral sucker are present and the anterior sucker absent. Mature individuals also lack cilia. All are endoparasitic, and development may involve one or two hosts.