Search

The Turbellarians
The Turbellaria are free living or commensal with larger animals, (it is possible a few species now thought to be commensals may actually be parasitic). There are about 3,000 known species of Turbellaria, most of which are marine. They are the most primitive of the Platyhelminthes, and as far as we know the other three classes of Platyhelminthes all evolved from the Turbellarians. Most species are marine and very small, some being less than 1 mm long, some even smaller than the larger protozoa. Most species are less than 5 mm long, though both the Tricladida and the Polycladida are often larger than this. The terrestrial forms include the largest species and the Greenhouse Planarian (Bipalium kewense) can reach a length of 60cm (2 feet).

The Turbellarians contain all the visually attractive Platyhelminths, including the Gren house Planarian mentioned above which has 7 grey or green stripes along its otherwise yellow body. Among the more attractive species are a number of species of Prosthoceraeus such as P. vittatus from the English Channel, P. roseus from the Mediterranean. Other attractive species include Thysarozoon brocchii and the smaller, at 1.3 cm (0.5 in) Oligocladus sanguinolentus. Still very attractive but small enough that you really need to look at it down a low power microscope is the 2 mm Monocelis lineata There are 12 orders within the class Turbellaria and between them they show considerable variability however they all have certain features in common. These include a simple brain with a nerve net extending from it out to the body, have no blood system, no organs of gaseous exchange and can reproduce asexually as well as sexually. Sexually they hermaphrodites, meaning each animal is both male and female and that during copulation they exchange sperm. Here I will take a brief look at the more well know orders.

The Acoela
The Acoela are the simplest of the Turbellarians in that they lack intestines and oviducts. Thus they shed their eggs either through their skin, or out of their mouth. As adults they live in a sort of symbiosis with flagellated algae of the genus Chlamydomonas. The algae are eaten but not digested, so that they live in the body of the worm. The algae have a safe home and the Acoelan absorbs nutrients produced by them and thus they lose the need to eat at all and can survive without a digestive system. Before they reproduce the adults do digest their algal partners, and then after reproducing they die. Naturally enough the presence of the algae tends to make them

appear green, and as they are dependant on sunlight for their energy and nutrients they can only live in shallow waters. A common European species is Convoluta convoluta.

The Macrostomida
The Macrostomids are noteworthy for a few reasons. Firstly they occur in both fresh and marine waters, in fact one species, Macrostomum appendiculatum can live in either habitat, which is very unusual.Another interesting species isMacrostomum lineare which will feed on the polyps of freshwater Cnidarians. When it does so it absorbs the Cnidarians nematocysts (stinging organs) and secretes them in its own skin so that they can protect it. M. linare is also one of the species in this group that can reproduce asexually by budding off new individuals from its tail end, sometimes several buds can form one after the other and you get chains of developing animals still attached to the the adult.

The Polycladida The Polyclads are often attractive and colourful worms mostly limited to benthic (sea floor) marine environments, though a few planktonic (near the sea surface) species are less brightly coloured.
Polyclads are distinguished by their having an extremely branched gut, a complicated set of sexual organs and an eversible pharynx(can be extended out from the body, though normally held within the body). Many species go through a free living larval stage. Some Polyclads, such as Stylochus zebra lives with Hermit Crabs inside their adopted snail shell are therefore commensals. Two other species that are well known to mankind are Stylochus pilidium from the Mediterranean andStylochus frontalis from Florida USA. both these species are sometimes found as pests in commercial oyster beds.

The Tricladida
Triclads are among the best known and most fully studied of the non-parasitic Platyhelminthes. They can be found in both marine and freshwater habitats and there are also a few terrestrial species which can be found in damp or very humid soils. Like the Polyclads, some species of Triclads live with other animals. In the waters around the USA Triclads of the genus Bdelloura can be found cling to the gills of Horse Shoe Crabs. Scientists are still unsure whether the relationship is a commensal one or a parasitic one. By far the best known and studied Triclads are the freshwater Planarians. They are common in many freshwater habitats and can occasionally be found in fish tanks where they are not much appreciated by fish breeders because they will feed on fish eggs. Personally I have always found them to be very attractive little animals and have kept in ceramic basins in my kitchen quite happily, as well as in my fish tanks. They are in fact easy to find, easy to keep and fun to watch.

Like the closely related Polyclads they they have an eversible pharynx, but unlike the Polyclads they have only three branches to their gut, hence the 'Tri' rather than 'Poly' in their name. They tend to occupy a variety of habitats ranging from alpine streams to stagnant ponds, though you will find different species, and or different forms in the different habitats. The genus Dugesia is common in both Europe and North America. It can often be caught by searching the undersides of the leaves of aquatic plants, or by tying a small piece of steak to a length of string and lowering it into a pond or slow moving stream until it reaches the bottom. If Dugesia species are present they will soon be attracted to it and may remain attached to it by their pharynx if you pull the meat in slowly and then dunk it into a jar of clear water. Freshwater triclads are best known for their ability to regenerate after being damaged and to survive being mutilated. Some species will survive being cut into 3 parts, with each part growing into a new organism. Others have survived numerous mutilations such that they grow multiple heads and tails. Though it is amazing that they can do this, it is without doubt unpleasant for the animal to be chopped up, or mutilated and there is no real reason to let curiosity cause you to degrade your humanity by deliberately causing suffering to another living thing just so that you can see the results. You can find pictures in text books if you really want to see the evidence with your own eyes. More amazing yet is the fact that Dugesia deratocephala, a species which has sufficient eyesight to distinguish between black and white can be trained to navigate a simple t-maze. Further more if the trained animal is cut in half, the new animals that develop from both halves remember how to negotiate the maze. Even more amazingly it was found that if the trained animal was killed and fed to an untrained animal, the untrained animal acquired the ability to escape the maze. By further research scientists were able to learn that it was RNA and not DNA that the animal was using to remember the correct response, it was remembering with its whole body.

The Temnocephalida
The Temnocephalids are perhaps the most advanced group of the Turbellaria in terms of evolution. All the species in this group are either commensals or parasites. The European species Scutariella didactyla is a parasite on shrimps of the genus Trogocaris. It lives in their gills and sucks the shrimps body fluids out from the gill filaments.

Life Cycle of Turbellaria

Other People Are Reading

Planaria Life Cycle

1. Fission
o
Many turbellaria, notably the planarians, can reproduce asexually simply by constricting their bodies until the two parts separate. Each part then regenerates the missing portion. Although simple, this form of reproduction is not the preferred one.

Flatworm Life Cycles

Copulation
o o
Although most turbellaria are hermaphroditic they do not self-fertilize. They copulate and each member of the pair donates sperm to the other.

Fertilization
o
After copulation one or more fertilized eggs are enclosed in a protective cocoon that is attached to the substrate by a short stalk.

Eggs
o
The embryos consume the yolk that can be either located in the egg itself or in special cells included in the cocoon.

Hatching
o
Most turbellaria hatch as juveniles that resemble miniature adults but lack functional reproductive organs.

Turbellaria: They are flat shaped with a leaf like structure. There is an absence of circulatory and respiratory system in these worms, which means that their oxygen and nutrient requirements are met through diffusion. There are 3 discovered species of turbellaria found in humans. Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/parasitic-worms-in-humans.html Diseases Caused Endo limax nana eats the calcium from the bones thereby causing arthritis. Ascaris, a type of roundworm, get into the lungs and cause asthma. Hookworms or necator americanus are found in the intestines. Hookworms drink blood from the blood vessels thereby causing anemia. Intestinal parasite infection is caused by tapeworms, too. Symptoms Commonly seen symptoms of parasitic worms are stomach pain, indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, reduced appetite, inability to gain or lose weight, urinary tract infections, stools with mucus, constipation, water retention and anemia.

Treatment As far as treatment of parasitic worms in humans is concerned, the doctor would first take a stool test to ascertain the type or worm eggs that are present in the body. Then, in accordance with the type of parasitic worms present, he will prescribe a vermicides. Vermicides or anthelmintics are the drugs that root out parasitic worms from the body by either killing them or stunning them. Some of the commonly used anthelmintics are thiabendazole, which are effective against roundworms and hookworms, and flubendazole which are effective against intestinal parasites. Prevention Maintain cleanliness by taking a bath everyday. Wash your hands regularly especially after going to the toilet and before eating. Wear clean, washed clothes. Maintain hygienic sanitary conditions. Wash vegetables and fruits before eating or cooking. Do not keep cooked food outside for long periods. Such preventive measures will surely lessen the prevalence of parasitic worms in your surroundings. For naturally treating parasitic worms, consume herbs such as pumpkin seeds, cloves, black walnut, gentian root, peppermint, thyme, fennel seed and grapefruit seed. These herbs are known for their parasite killing properties and have been used as natural parasite cleanse, for ages. Currently an estimated three billion people are infected with parasitic worms. With such high numbers, their prevention and treatment either by natural body cleansing or by a physician, has become a necessity. Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/parasitic-worms-in-humans.html

Turbellaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Turbellaria
Temporal range: 400 Ma[1] Pre O S D

C P T J K Pg N

A marine species Pseudobiceros bedfordi (Bedford's Flatworm), a member of the Polycladida

Scientific classification

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Platyhelminthes

Class:

Turbellaria
Ehrenberg, 1831

Orders

Catenulida Haplopharyngida

Lecithoepitheliata Macrostomida Nemertodermata Polycladida Prolecithophora Rhabdocoela Seriata Temnocephalida Tricladida The Turbellaria are one of the traditional sub-divisions of the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and include all the sub-groups that are not exclusively parasitic. There are about 4,500 species, which range from 1 mm (0.039 in) to 600 mm (24 in) in length. All the larger forms are flat with ribbon-like or leaf-like shapes, since their lack of respiratory and circulatory systems means that they have to rely on diffusion for internal transport of metabolites. However, many of the smaller forms are round in cross section. Most are predators, and all live in water or in moist terrestrial environments. Most forms reproduce sexually and with few exceptions all are simultaneous hermaphrodites. The Acoelomorpha and the genus Xenoturbella were formerly included in the Turbellaria, but are no longer regarded as Platyhelminthes. All the exclusively parasitic Platyhelminthes form a monophyletic group Neodermata, and it is agreed that these are descended from one small sub-group within the free-living Platyhelminthes. Hence the "Turbellaria" as traditionally defined areparaphyletic.

Contents
[hide]

1 Description

o o o o o

1.1 Features common to all Platyhelminthes 1.2 Features specific to Turbelleria 1.3 Diet and digestion 1.4 Nervous system 1.5 Reproduction

2 Classification and evolutionary relationships 3 References

[edit]Description Traditional classifications divide the Platyhelminthes into four groups: Turbellaria and the wholly parasitic Trematoda, Monogeneaand Cestoda.[2] In this classification the Turbellaria include the Acoelomorpha (Acoela and Nemertodermatida). The name "Turbellaria" refers to the "whirlpools" of microscopic particles created close the skins of aquatic species by the movement of their cilia.[3] [edit]Features

common to all Platyhelminthes

Main article: Platyhelminthes Platyhelminthes are bilaterally symmetrical animals, in other words their left and right sides are mirror images of each other; this also implies that they have distinct top and bottom surfaces and distinct head and tail ends. Like other bilaterians they have three main cell layers (it is triploblastic),[2] while the radially symmetrical cnidarians and ctenophore have only two cell layers.[4] Unlike most other bilaterians, platyhelminthes have no internal body cavity and are therefore described as acoelomates. They also lack specialized circulatory and respiratory organs [2][3] The lack of circulatory and respiratory organs limits platyhelminths to sizes and shapes that enable oxygen to reach and carbon dioxide to leave all parts of their bodies by simple diffusion. Hence many are microscopic and the large species have flat ribbon-like or leaf-like shapes. The guts of large species have many branches, so that nutrients can diffuse to all parts of the body.[5] Respiration through the whole surface of the body makes platyhelminthes vulnerable to fluid loss, and restricts them to environments where dehydration is unlikely: sea and freshwater; moist terrestrial environments such as leaf litter or between grains of soil; and asparasites within other animals.[2] The space between the skin and gut is filled with mesenchyme, a connective tissue that is made of cells and reinforced by collagen fibers that act as a type ofskeleton, providing attachment points for muscles. The

mesenchyme contains all the internal organs and allows the passage of oxygen, nutrients and waste products. It consists of two main types of cell: fixed cells, some of which have fluid-filled vacuoles; and stem cells, which can transform into any other type of cell, and are used in regenerating tissues after injury or asexual reproduction.[2] Most platyhelminths have no anus and regurgitate undigested material through the mouth. However some long species have an anus and some with complex branched guts have more than one anus, since excretion only through the mouth would be difficult for them.[3] The gut is lined with a single layer of endodermal cells which absorb and digest food. Some species break up and soften food first by secreting enzymes in the gut or the pharynx (throat).[2] All animals need to keep the concentration of dissolved substances in their body fluids at a fairly constant level. Internal parasites and free-living marine animals live in environments that have high concentrations of dissolved material, and generally let their tissues have the same level of concentration as the environment, while freshwater animals need to prevent their body fluids from becoming too dilute. Despite this difference in environments, most platyhelminths use the same system tocontrol the level of concentration in their body fluids. Flame cells, so called because the beating of their flagella looks like a flickering candle flame, extract from the mesenchyme water that contains wastes and some re-usable material, and drive it into networks of tube cells which are lined with flagella and microvilli. The tube cells' flagella drive the water towards exits called nephridiopores, while their microvilli re-absorb re-usable materials and as much water as is needed to keep the body fluids at the right level of concentration. These combinations of flame cells and tubule cells are called protonephredia.[2][6] In all platyhelminths the nervous system is concentrated at the head end. Most species have rings of ganglia in the head and main nerve trunks running along their bodies.[2][3] Planarians are famous for their ability to regenerate if divided by cuts across their bodies. Experiments show that, in fragments that do not already have a head, a new head grows most quickly on those that were closest to the original head. This suggests that the growth of a head is controlled by a chemical whose concentration diminishes from head to tail.[3]

[edit]Features

specific to Turbelleria

The turbellarian Pseudoceros dimidiatus

Two turbellarians mating bypenis fencing. Each has two penises, the white spikes on the undersides of their heads.

These have about 4,500 species,[3] are mostly free-living, and range from 1 mm (0.039 in) to 600 mm (24 in) in length. Most are predators or scavengers, and terrestrial species are mostly nocturnal and live in shaded humid locations such as leaf litter or rotting wood. However some are symbiotes of other animals such as crustaceans, and some are parasites. Free-living turbellarians are mostly black, brown or gray, but some larger ones are brightly colored.[2] Turbellarians have no cuticle (external layer of organic but non-cellular material). In a few species the skin is a syncitium, a collection of cells with multiple nuclei and a single shared external membrane. However the skins of most species consist of a single layer of cells, each of which generally has multiple cilia (small mobile "hairs"), although in some large species the upper surface has no cilia. These skins are also covered with microvilli between the cilia. They have many glands, usually submerged in the muscle layers below the skin and connect to the surface by pores through which they secrete mucus, adhesives and other substances.[3] Small aquatic species use the cilia for locomotion, while larger ones use muscular movements of the whole body or of a specialized sole to creep or swim. Some are capable of burrowing, anchoring their rear ends at the

bottom of the burrow, then stretching the head up to feed and then pulling it back down for safety. Some terrestrial species throw a thread of mucus which they use as a rope to climb from one leaf to another. [3] Some Turbelleria have spicular skeletons, giving the appearance of annulations.[7] [edit]Diet

and digestion

The acoel Convoluta roscoffensis swallows cells of the green alga Tetraselmis and does not feed as an adult, presumably relying on the alge to provide nourishment as endosymbionts. In other acoels the gut is lined by a syncitium. These and some other turbellarians have a simple pharynx lined with cilia and generally feed by using cilia to sweep food particles and small prey into their mouths, which are usually in the middle of the underside. Most other turbellarians are carnivorous, either preying on small invertebrates or protozoans, or scavenging on dead animals. A few feed on larger animals, includingoysters and barnacles, while some, such as Bdelloura, are commensal on the gills of horseshoe crabs. These turbellarians usually have an eversible pharynx, in other words, one that can be extended by being turned inside-out, and the mouths of different species can be anywhere along the underside.[2] The freshwater speciesMicrostomum caudatum can open its mouth almost as wide as its body is long, to swallow prey as large as itself.[3] The intestine is lined by phagocytic cells which capture food particles that have already been partially digested by enzymes in the gut. Digestion is then completed within the phagocytic cells and the nutrients diffuse through the body. [edit]Nervous

system

Concentration of nervous tissue in the head region is least marked in the acoels, which have nerve nets rather like those of cnidarians and ctenophores, but densest around the head. In other turbellarians, a distinct brain is present, albeit relatively simple in structure. From the brain one to four pairs of nerve cords run along the length the body, with numerous smaller nerves branching off. The ventral pair of nerve cords are typically the largest, and, in many species, are the only ones present. Unlike more complex animals, such as annelids, there are no ganglia on the nerve cords, other than those forming the brain.[8] Most turbellarians have pigment-cup ocelli ("little eyes"), one pair in most species, but two or even three pairs in some. A few large species have many eyes in clusters over the brain, mounted on tentacles, or spaced uniformly round the edge of the body. The ocelli can only distinguish the direction from which light is coming and enable the animals to avoid it.[8] A few groups mainly catenulids, acoelomorphs and seriates have statocysts, fluid-filled chambers containing a small solid particle or, in a few groups, two. These statocysts are thought to be balance and acceleration sensors, as that is the function they perform in cnidarian medusae and in ctenophores. However

turbellarian statocysts have no sensory cilia, and it is unknown how they sense the movements and positions of the solid particles. Most species have ciliated touch-sensor cells scattered over their bodies, especially on tentacles and around the edges. Specialized cells in pits or grooves on the head are probably smell-sensors.[3] [edit]Reproduction Many turbellarians clone themselves by tranverse or longitudinal division, and others, especially acoels, reproduce by budding. The planarian Dugesia is a well-known representative of class Turbellaria.[3] All turbellarians are simultaneous hermaphrodites, having both female and male reproductive cells, and fertilize eggs internally by copulation.[3] Some of the larger aquatic species mate by penis fencing, a duel in which each tries to impregnate the other, and the loser adopts the female role of developing the eggs. [9] Although the acoels have no distinct gonads at all, in other turbellarians there are one or more pairs of both testes and ovaries. Sperm ducts run from the testes, through bulb-like seminal vesicles, to the muscular penis. In many species, this basic plan is considerably complicated by the addition of accessory glands or other structures. The penis lies inside a cavity, and can be everted through an opening on the posterior underside of the animal. It often, although not always, possesses a sharp stylet. Unusually among animals, in most species, the sperm cells have two tails, rather than one.[8] In most platyhelminths, the ovaries are divided into two regions, one producing the ova, and the other producing specialised yolk cells to nourish the developing embryo. While many turbellarians have this arrangement, some are apparently more primitive. In these latter species, the ovaries are undivided, and the egg cells contain yolk within their own cytoplasm, as is the case in most other animals. In either arrangement, the ovaries possess oviducts that run to a bursa for storing sperm. The bursa is in turn connected to the vagina, which opens in front of the penis. In some cases, there also be other structures for sperm storage, in addition to the bursa, or even a uterus for storage of ripe eggs.[8] In most species "miniature adults" emerge when the eggs hatch, but a few large species produce planktonlike larvae.[3] [edit]Classification

and evolutionary relationships

Main article: Platyhelminthes#Phylogeny Platyhelminthes Catenulida Rhabditophora various Rhabditophora various Rhabditophora

Neodermata (all parasitic: flukes, tapeworms, etc.) Relationships of Platyhelminthes (excluding Acoelomorpha) to each other[10] Detailed morphological analyses of anatomical features in the mid-1980s andmolecular phylogenetics analyses since 2000 using different sections of DNA agree that Acoelomorpha, consisting of Acoela (traditionally regarded as very simple "turbellarians"[3]) and Nemertodermatida (another small group previously classified as "turbellarians"[11]) are the sister group to all other bilaterians, including the rest of the "Platyhelminthes". [12][13] The "Platyhelminthes" excluding "Acoelomorpha" contain two main groups,Catenulida and Rhabditophora, and it is generally agreed that both are monophyletic, in other words each contains all and only the descendants of an ancestor which is a member of the same group.[10][13] Early molecular phylogenetics analyses of the Catenulida and Rhabditophora left uncertainties about whether these could be combined in a single monophyletic group, but a study in 2008 concluded that they could, and therefore that "Platyhelminthes" could be redefined as Catenulida plus Rhabditophora, excluding the "Acoelomorpha".[13] It has been agreed since 1985 that each of the wholly parasitic platyhelminth groups (Cestoda, Monogenea and Trematoda) is monophyletic, and that together these form a larger monophyletic grouping, the Neodermata, in which the adults of all members have syncitial skins.[14] It is also generally agreed that the Neodermata are a relatively small sub-group a few levels down in the "family tree" of the Rhabditophora.[13] Hence the traditional sub-phylum "Turbellaria" is paraphyletic, since it does not include the Neodermata although these are descendants of a sub-group of "turbellarians".[15]

Bulaceros sp. (1 photo)

Callioplana marginata (3 photos)

Cycloporus variegatus (1 photo)

Cycloporus venetus (16 photos)

Enchiridium punctatum (1 photo)

Eurylepta californica (1 photo)

Eurylepta sp. (6 photos)

Maiazoon orsaki (10 photos)

Maiazoon sp. (2 photos)

Maritigrella eschara (3 photos)

Maritigrella fuscopunctata (18 photos)

Maritigrella sp. (4 photos)

Maritigrella virgulata (7 photos)

Melloplana ferruginea (1 photo)

Paraplanocera oligoglena (2 photos)

Paraplanocera sp. (3 photos)

Phrikoceros cf. katoi (13 photos)

Phrikoceros mopsus (1 photo)

Phrikoceros sp. (3 photos)

Prostheceraeus bellostriatus (1 photo)

Prostheceraeus giesbrechtii (14 photos)

Prostheceraeus moseley (5 photos)

Prostheceraeus sp. (20 photos)

Prostheceraeus vittatus (4 photos)

Pseudobiceros bedfordi (64 photos)

Pseudobiceros brogani (1 photo)

Pseudobiceros damawan (2 photos)

Pseudobiceros flowersi (12 photos)

Pseudobiceros fulgor (10 photos)

Pseudobiceros gloriosus (24 photos)

Pseudobiceros gratus (18 photos)

Pseudobiceros hancockanus (11 photos)

Pseudobiceros kryptos (7 photos)

Pseudobiceros pardalis (5 photos)

Pseudobiceros uniarbonensis (20 photos)

Pseudoceros bajae (2 photos)

Pseudoceros bifurcus (67 photos)

Pseudoceros bimarginatus (14 photos)

Pseudoceros colemani (1 photo)

Pseudoceros crozieri (1 photo)

Pseudoceros cruentus (1 photo)

Pseudoceros dimidiatus (45 photos)

Pseudoceros ferrugineus (40 photos)

Pseudoceros goslineri (4 photos)

Pseudoceros gravieri (4 photos)

Pseudoceros imitatus (13 photos)

Pseudoceros imperatus (1 photo)

Pseudoceros indicus (5 photos)

Pseudoceros intermittus (1 photo)

Pseudoceros laingensis (21 photos)

Pseudoceros leptostictus (5 photos)

Pseudoceros lindae (39 photos)

Pseudoceros monostichos (7 photos)

Pseudoceros montereyensis (1 photo)

Pseudoceros paralaticlavus (16 photos)

Pseudoceros prudhoei (1 photo)

Pseudoceros rubronanus (3 photos)

Pseudoceros sapphirinus (9 photos)

Pseudoceros scintillatus (18 photos)

Pseudoceros scriptus (22 photos)

Pseudoceros sp. (19 photos)

Pseudoceros susanae (26 photos)

Pseudoceros tristriatus (3 photos)

Pseudoceros zebra (5 photos)

Stylochus insolitus (1 photo)

Thysanozoon brocchii (4 photos)

Thysanozoon sp. (133 photos)

Tytthosoceros lizardensis (3 photos)

Unidentified polyclad flatworm (627 photos)

Yungia aurantiaca (4 photos)