ny of a phylum (Platyhelminthes) of soft-bodied, usually much-flattened worms, including both free-living and parasitic species. Flatworms live in a variety of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats worldwide. They range in length from much less than an inch (a fraction of a millimeter) to 50 ft (15 m) and are of three main types: turbellarians (including the planarian), trematodes (see fluke), and cestodes (see tapeworm). Flatworms are bilaterally symmetrical and lack respiratory, skeletal, and circulatory systems and a body cavity. Turbellarians are mostly free-swimming, but trematodes and cestodes are parasites.