Does Planaria Exhibit Cephalization?

The planarian is the simplest living animal having a body plan of bilateral symmetry and cephalization. The brain of these free-living flatworms

is a bilobed structure with a cortex of nerve cells and a core of nerve fibres including some that decussate to form commissures.

What is cephalization in planaria?

Members of the Phylum Platyhelminthes (especially true of the planarians, Class Turbellaria) are organized with brain and sense organs at the front of the animal. This is called cephalization. In animals with cephalization, the sense organs come in contact with the environment first.

Do flatworms have cephalization?

Flatworms (phylum Platyhelminthes) are the most primitive animals with bilateral symmetry. They also have a fairly advanced degree of cephalization, with sense organs (photosensory and chemosensory cells) and a brain concentrated at the anterior end.