| Maricola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sabussowia ronaldi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Order: | Tricladida |
| Suborder: | Maricola Hallez, 1892 |
| Superfamilies | |
Maricola is a suborder of triclad flatworms including species that mainly inhabit salt water environments. However, some species are also known from freshwater or brackish waters. [1]
The Maricola group was first proposed by Hallez in 1892. He recognized three families: Otoplanida, Procerodida and Bdellourida. [2] Two years later, in 1884, Hallez renamed these families as Otoplanidae, Procerodidae and Bdellouridae. [3] In 1906 Böhmig classified the Maricola in two families and five subfamilies: Procerodidae (Euprocerodinae, Cercyrinae, Micropharynginae) and Bdellouridae (Uteriporinae, Eubdellourinae). In 1909 Wilhelmi wrote a monograph on the group in which five families were described: Procerodidae, Uteriporidae, Cercyridae, Bdellouridae, Micropharyngidae. [4] Von Graff used the same classification in 1916. [5] In 1989 Sluys recognized the six present families on the basis of phylogenetic analyses of the whole group. [6]
Taxonomical classification after Sluys et al. 2009: [7]
Phylogenetic supertree after Sluys et al., 2009: [7]
| Tricladida |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Planarians (triclads) are free-living flatworms of the class Turbellaria., order Tricladida, which includes hundreds of species, found in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial habitats. Planarians are characterized by a three-branched intestine, including a single anterior and two posterior branches. Their body is populated by adult stem cells called neoblasts, which planarians use for regenerating missing body parts. Many species are able to regenerate any missing organ, which has made planarians a popular model in research of regeneration and stem cell biology. The genome sequences of several species are available, as are tools for molecular biology analysis.
Dugesia is a genus of dugesiid triclads that contains some common representatives of the class Turbellaria. These common flatworms are found in freshwater habitats of Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Dugesia is best known to non-specialists because of its regeneration capacities.
Planariidae is a family of freshwater planarians.
Geoplanidae is a family of flatworms known commonly as land planarians or land flatworms.
Bipalium is a genus of large predatory land planarians. They are often loosely called "hammerhead worms" or "broadhead planarians" because of the distinctive shape of their head region. Land planarians are unique in that they possess a "creeping sole", a highly ciliated region on the ventral epidermis that helps them to creep over the substrate. Native to Asia, several species are invasive to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Some studies have begun the investigation of the evolutionary ecology of these invasive planarians.
Dugesiidae is a family of freshwater planarians distributed worldwide. The type genus is Dugesia Girard, 1850.
Dendrocoelidae is a family of freshwater tricladida flatworms that has a holarctic distribution.
Planarioidea is a superfamily of freshwater triclads that comprises the families Dendrocoelidae, Kenkiidae and Planariidae.
Kenkiidae is a family of freshwater triclads. Their species can be found sporadically in caves, groundwater, and deep lakes in Central Asia, Far East and North America.
Girardia tigrina, known as the brown planarian or the immigrant triclad flatworm, is a species of dugesiid native to the Americas. It has been accidentally introduced into Europe and Japan.
Uteriporidae is a family of Maricola triclads.
Dimarcusidae is a family of triclads found mostly in freshwater habitats of caves, although at least one species, Rhodax evelinae, occurs in surface waters. Currently the family contains only seven species distributed in five genera, although the total number of species is thought to be much higher.
Procerodes is a genus of marine triclads. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Procerodidae and monotypic superfamily Procerodoidea .
Cercyridae is a family of Maricola triclads.
Meixnerididae is a family of Maricola triclads.
Bdellouridae is a family of Maricola triclads.
Microplana is a genus of land planarians found in Europe and Africa.
Cavernicola is a suborder of planarians found mostly in freshwater habitats of caves, although some species occur on the surface.
Geoplaninae is a subfamily of land planarians endemic to the Neotropical region. Members of this family are sometimes referred to as the Neotropical land planarians. However, one species, Obama nungara has been introduced in Europe.
The reproductive system of planarians is broadly similar among different families, although the associated structures can vary in complexity.
