Planarian
Flatworms of the Turbellaria class / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Planarians (triclads) are free-living flatworms of the class Turbellaria,[2][3] order Tricladida,[4] which includes hundreds of species, found in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial habitats.[5] Planarians are characterized by a three-branched intestine, including a single anterior and two posterior branches.[5] Their body is populated by adult stem cells called neoblasts, which planarians use for regenerating missing body parts.[6] Many species are able to regenerate any missing organ, which has made planarians a popular model in research of regeneration and stem cell biology.[7] The genome sequences of several species are available, as are tools for molecular biology analysis.[7][8]
The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. The reason given is: it does not summarise the body. (December 2023) |
Planarian | |
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Dugesia subtentaculata, a dugesiid. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
Subphylum: | Rhabditophora |
Order: | Tricladida Lang, 1884 |
Subdivisions[1] | |
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The order Tricladida is split into three suborders, according to their phylogenetic relationships: Maricola, Cavernicola and Continenticola. Formerly, the Tricladida was split according to their habitat: Maricola (marine planarians); Paludicola (freshwater planarian); and Terricola (land planarians).[9]
Planarians move by beating cilia on the ventral dermis, allowing them to glide along on a film of mucus. Some also can move by undulations of the whole body by the contractions of muscles built into the body membrane.[10]
Triclads play an important role in watercourse ecosystems and are often very important as bio-indicators.[11]