Answer: Earthworm (Pheretima).
- A Ascaris, a parasitic roundworm species
- B Earthworm (Pheretima)
- C Periplaneta, the common cockroach
- D Asterias, a marine starfish species
Correct answer: B. Earthworm (Pheretima)
Explanation: Earthworms are hermaphrodites, possessing both male and female reproductive organs in the same individual, though cross-fertilization is the norm.
Moving across the animal phyla, body organisation becomes progressively more complex: from no symmetry and cellular organisation (Porifera) through radial/diploblastic (Cnidaria), bilateral/acoelomate (Platyhelminthes), pseudocoelomate (Nematoda), to a true coelom with full organ systems (Annelida and beyond).
Concept context
Phylum-level classification of the animal kingdom from Porifera to Chordata, based on body symmetry, coelom, and segmentation. One of the most example-heavy chapters for NEET.