''Pseudobiceros hancockanus'' 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 hermaphroditic marine
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
Pseudocerotidae
Pseudocerotidae is a family of flatworms which includes the Bedford's flatworm. Pseudocerotidae are simple organisms categorized by their oval bodies and tentacles and bright colors. They use the cilia to glide along surfaces. Most commonly refer ...
. It is also known as ''Hancock's Flatworm.''
Description
According to the ''Baensch Marine Atlas,'' "''P. hancockanus'' is intense blue to black with white and orange peripheral bands and a purple fringe. The two short cephalic antennaie are easily overlooked because they are the same color as the body. Inferiorly, this species is purple with a medial line."
''P. hancockanus'' is very similar in appearance to ''
P. uniarborensis'', although the margin of ''P. uniarborensis'' is translucent gray with a white line only on the outside, while the margin of ''P. hancockanus'' is pure bright white. It can grow up to 14cm (5.5 inch) in length.
Habitat and distribution
''Pseudobiceros hancockanus'' lives in warm seas, sometimes on
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 sec ...
reefs, other times among coral fragments or stones.
It has been observed near such places as
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, and
Kenya
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.
Diet
It is thought to feed on small invertebrates that live in sponges in coral reefs rathen then eating the coral itself.
Behavior
''Pseudobiceros hancockanus'' can travel long distances, swimming by undulating the edges of its body.
Reproduction
Like other members of the genus ''
Pseudobiceros'', ''P. hancockanus'' is
hermaphroditic with each individual able to function as either a male or female. Mating between two such worms involves
penis fencing, as each worm tries to inject sperm into the other with one of its two stubby penises, while trying to avoid being inseminated itself. One explanation advanced for this behavior is that the female role entails more investment in the resulting fertilized eggs.
Another possible explanation is that the duel awards mating advantage to the better of two dueling partners—so that penis duel's loser, becoming the "female," is compensated by creating offspring with genes even better than hers.
References
External links
PBS website with video of ''Pseudobiceros hancockanus'' penis-fencing
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3015084
Turbellaria
Animals described in 1876