''Maritigrella crozierae'', the tiger flatworm, 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 marine

polyclad The Polycladida represents a highly diverse clade of free-living marine flatworms. They are known from the littoral to the Sublittoral zone, sublittoral zone (extending to the deep hot vents), and many species are common from coral reefs. Only a ...

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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Euryleptidae. It is found on the eastern coasts of North America and the Caribbean Sea where it feeds on

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

sea squirts Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians, tunicates (in part), and sea squirts (in part), is a polyphyletic class (biology), class in the subphylum Tunicate, Tunicata of sac-like marine (ocean), marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians ar ...

Description

''Maritigrella''Maritigrella'': "little tiger of the sea". crozierae'' is a large flatworm. The upper side of its body is boldly striped in yellow and black. The underside is creamy white with a sucker near the centre. The margin is ruffled, rimmed with orange and fringed with small orange tentacles. It has a tubular pharynx and two tentacles at the front of its head, formed from folds of parts of the front of its body. Just behind these is its brain, with two elongated clusters of ocelli (eyespots) on either side. It usually grows to about in length and occasional individuals may reach twice this size.

Distribution

''Maritigrella crozierae'' is found in shallow water in the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. Its

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

extends from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and includes the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

Biology

''Maritigrella crozierae'' is common in the

Indian River Lagoon The Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida; one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and is home to more than 4,300 ...

where it feeds exclusively on the mangrove tunicate, ''

Ecteinascidia turbinata ''Ecteinascidia turbinata'', the mangrove tunicate, is a sea squirt species in the genus ''Ecteinascidia'', which was described to science in 1880 by William Abbott Herdman. The cancer drug trabectedin is isolated from ''E. turbinata''. Descript ...

''. In other parts of its range it feeds on other sea squirts but seems to become habituated to the species it first ate. It everts its pharynx into a

zooid A zooid or zoöid is a single animal that is part of a colonial animal. This lifestyle has been adopted by animals from separate unrelated taxa. Zooids are multicellular; their structure is similar to that of other solitary animals. The zooi ...

and sucks out the interior tissues. A colony of mangrove tunicates is often home to two flatworms, each eating about 19 zooids a day. The tunicate produces a

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norm ...

called

trabectedin Trabectedin, sold under the brand name Yondelis, is an antitumor chemotherapy medication for the treatment of advanced soft-tissue sarcoma and ovarian cancer. The most common adverse reactions include nausea, fatigue, vomiting, constipation, decr ...

which has been shown to have anti-tumour properties. As it feeds, the flatworm gradually builds up the concentration of this chemical in its body. For this reason, it may be of interest to the

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

industry as a source of this compound which has been approved for medical use in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. ''Maritigrella crozierae'' is a simultaneous

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

, which means that an individual has both male and female gonads at the same time. Fertilisation is internal by hypodermic copulation. One individual approaches another from behind, rears up and falls forward, piercing the other with a fine stylet and inserting white bundles of sperm. Often the second individual reciprocates and both are inseminated at the same time. About 48 hours later, several clumps of cream coloured eggs are laid. These later hatch into larvae known as Muller's larvae which are

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

ic.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2781707 Turbellaria Animals described in 1939