''Pseudoceros lindae'', common name Linda's flatworm, is a 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 ...
species that belongs to the
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 ...
family.
Description
''Pseudoceros lindae'' can reach a length of . The upper surface of the thick and elongated body shows a wine color (burgundy) background with turquoise margins and a variable number oval to round yellow-golden spots. This pattern may vary from one individual to another especially in the density of points. The ventral side is light purple. Each pseudotentacle is formed by a broad simple fold of the anterior margins of the body. Also pharynx is formed by highly elaborated folds. This species is a simultaneous hermaphrodite, so it can make cross fecundation. There is a single male reproductive organ, that penetrates in any part of the mate's body, and the females have a short vagina directed backwards.
[Author Bolanos Marcel]
Life Desks Marine Flatworms
/ref>
Behaviour and feeding
These flatworms are benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
and diurnals. Because of their aposematic colors, they have no fear to crawl around to feed. "Pseudoceros lindae" feeds on various colonial ascidians.
Distribution
This species is widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
, from Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
and the eastern coast of Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
to 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 ...
, Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.[
]
Habitat
It can be found in the external slope or top coral reef.
Bibliography
* Leslie Newman & Lester Cannon, 1994 : Pseudoceros and Pseudobiceros (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida, Pseudocerotidae) from Eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, vol. 37, p. 205–266
* Leslie Newman & Lester Cannon, "Marine Flatworms",CSIRO publishing,2003,
* Neville Coleman, "Marine life of Maldives",Atoll editions,2004,
* Andrea & Antonnella Ferrrari,"Macrolife",Nautilus publishing,2003,
References
External links
Life Desk, Pseudoceros lindae
Discover Life, Pseudoceros lindae
Turbellarian taxonomic database, Pseudoceros lindae
Nudipixel
*
Turbellaria
Animals described in 1994
{{flatworm-stub