''Dalyellia viridis'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
rhabdocoel flatworm
The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegment ...
in the family
Dalyelliidae
Dalyelliidae is a family of flatworms belonging to the order Rhabdocoela
Rhabdocoela is an order of flatworms in the class Rhabditophora with about 1700 species described worldwide. The order was first described in 1831 by Christian Gottfried ...
.
Description
The animal is usually colored intensively green due to
zoochlorellae.
It is 2.5 to 4 mm long
with a rounded anterior and pointed posterior end. It possesses a pair of kidney-shaped eyes.
Mature animals carry many eggs in their body.
Taxonomy
It was described in 1791 by
George Shaw George Shaw may refer to:
* George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist
* George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
* George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright
* George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...
as ''Hirudo viridis''.
Distribution and habitat
It occurs in freshwater in stagnant waterbodies. It is most frequently found in
temporary pools.
Ecology and behavior
The animal harbors
symbiotic
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
green algae
The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...
(
zoochlorellae) of the species ''
Chlorella vulgaris'' in its body. It feeds on algae and animals, including microturbellarians.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2651945
Rhabdocoela
Species described in 1791