''Planaria'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
planarians in the family
Planariidae. When an individual is cut into pieces, each piece has the ability to regenerate into a fully formed individual.
Description
Currently the genus ''Planaria'' is defined as freshwater
triclads with oviducts that unite to form a common oviduct without embracing the
bursa copulatrix and with an adenodactyl present in the male atrium. The testes occur along the whole body.
Planaria originally have habitats in dark, murky water which results in such sensitivity (Paskin et al., 2014). They are also sensitive to other stimuli such as chemical gradients, vibration, magnetic and electric fields (Deochand et al., 2018). Their central nervous system includes the anterior (head, brain and eyes) and middle (abdominal trunk and pharynx) (Deochand et al., 2018).
Diet
The food of ''Planaria'' species includes freshwater
gastropods,
tubificid worms, and freshwater
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...
s, such as
isopods of the genus ''
Asellus
''Asellus'' is a genus of isopod crustaceans in the family Asellidae.
Species
Asellus is divided into three subgenera which contain the following species:
Asellus Geoffroy, 1764
*'' Asellus alaskensis'' Bowman & Holmquist, 1975https://biostor ...
'' and
chironomid
The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many specie ...
larvae.
In the United Kingdom, ''P. torva'' is a successful predator of the invasive
New Zealand mud snail
The New Zealand mud snail (''Potamopyrgus antipodarum'') is a species of very small freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum. This aquatic gastropod mollusk is in the family Tateidae.
It is native to New Zealand, where it is found throug ...
(''Potamopyrgus jenkinsi'').
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus ''Planaria'':
*''
Planaria adhaerens''
*''
Planaria albocingata''
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Planaria barroisi''
*''
Planaria bicingulata''
*''
Planaria chulunginensis''
*''
Planaria cincinata''
*''
Planaria cinerea''
*''
Planaria dagarensis''
*''
Planaria debilis''
*''
Planaria delineata''
*''
Planaria dybouskyi''
*''
Planaria flava''
*''
Planaria fontana''
*''
Planaria fuliginosa''
*''
Planaria fuliginosus''
*''
Planaria fulvifrons''
*''
Planaria fuscomaculata''
*''
Planaria gigas''
*''
Planaria grubii''
*''
Planaria ignorata''
*''
Planaria incerta''
*''
Planaria kempi''
*''
Planaria lemani''
*''
Planaria lucta''
*''
Planaria luteola''
*''
Planaria macrocephala''
*''
Planaria maculata
''Planaria'' is a genus of planarians in the family Planariidae. When an individual is cut into pieces, each piece has the ability to regenerate into a fully formed individual.
Description
Currently the genus ''Planaria'' is defined as freshw ...
''
*''
Planaria marmorosa''
*''
Planaria melanocerca''
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Planaria melanopunctata''
*''
Planaria melanotorquis''
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Planaria nesidensis''
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Planaria onegensis''
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Planaria punctatum''
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Planaria rosea''
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Planaria rothii''
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Planaria sabussowi''
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Planaria savignyi''
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Planaria semifasciata''
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Planaria simplex''
*''
Planaria sinensis''
*''
Planaria subflava''
*''
Planaria torva''
*''
Planaria tremellaris''
*''
Planaria unionicola''
*''
Planaria verrucosa''
*''
Planaria wytegrensis''
*''
Planaria zeylanica''
References
*Deochand, N., Costello, M. S., & Deochand, M. E. (2018). Behavioral Research with Planaria. Perspectives on behavior science, 41(2), 447–464. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-018-00176-w
Continenticola
Rhabditophora genera
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