Advances in Diversity, Evolutionary History and Ecology of Global Flatworms

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive and integrative overview of the vast biological diversity, evolutionary history, and ecological significance of the phylum Platyhelminthes, a group comprising roughly 30,000 species of both free-living and parasitic flatworms. Characterized by their dorsoventral flatness, flatworms occupy an extraordinary range of habitats and lifestyles. The phylum encompasses two major clades: Catenulida, free-living forms inhabiting freshwater and marine environments, and Rhabditophora, a taxonomically rich group that includes Macrostomorpha, Polycladida, Proseriata, Tricladida, Rhabdocoela, and the exclusively parasitic Neodermata. These lineages display remarkable variation in size, form, and ecological strategies, ranging from minute interstitial turbellarians to large macroturbellarians that glide across coral reefs and freshwater and terrestrial substrates.

The evolutionary transition from free-living to parasitic lifestyles within Platyhelminthes will also be considered in this Special Issue. This shift involved key morphological and physiological innovations, including the development of the neodermis, a syncytial epidermal layer offering protection against host defenses and facilitating nutrient acquisition. Contrasts between the ciliated epidermis of free-living turbellarians and the specialized epidermal transformations in neodermatan parasites highlight the adaptive pathways that shaped the group’s diversification.

We invite contributions that explore all aspects of flatworm biology—taxonomy, morphology, genomics, development, physiology, ecology, and evolution—across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Studies on free-living species, ectocommensal forms, and parasitic Neodermata are all welcome. By bringing together diverse perspectives, this Special Issue seeks to deepen our understanding of flatworm diversity and elucidate the processes that underlie their exceptional evolutionary and ecological success.

Dr. Francisco Brusa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.