''Convolutriloba retrogemma'' is a reddish-brown flatworm 2 mm in length also commonly known as redbug, red planaria, rust flatworm, or simply red flatworm. It is a marine flatworm that gets energy from its endosymbiotic algae or from the consumption of small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s such as copepods and rotifers. Like some other flatworms, it is known to starve coral of sunlight while searching for food on the corals' surface due to its rapid reproduction. ''C. retrogemma'', like many other flatworms, contains dangerous toxins to keep it predators away, and, on death, it can release these

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849 ...

s. This is harmful to nearby life such as

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

and

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, and even people if infected fish are consumed.

Reproduction

''Convolutriloba retrogemma'' reproduce quickly either sexually by laying eggs or asexually by using

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is kno ...

and

binary fission Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1) * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical operation that ta ...

, where it splits up and makes a bud that will create a new worm, or by using fragmentation, where it forms new parent organisms from fragments of one original parent organism.

Distribution

These flatworms are found globally, but originate from Cuba. Due to their reproduction techniques they can be a plague to aquariums and fish tanks, as they are very harmful, unsightly, and difficult to remove without harming other life nearby.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3085398 Acoelomorphs Fauna of the Caribbean Fauna of Cuba Fauna of the Dominican Republic Marine fauna of North America Animals described in 1988