Schmidtea mediterranea
| Schmidtea mediterranea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Class: | Turbellaria |
| Order: | Tricladida |
| Family: | Dugesiidae |
| Genus: | Schmidtea |
| Species: | S. mediterranea |
| Binomial name | |
| Schmidtea mediterranea Benazzi, Baguñà, Ballester, Puccinelli & Del Papa, 1975 | |
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| Distribution of S. mediterranea (Western Mediterranean)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Schmidtea mediterranea is a freshwater planarian that lives in southern Europe and Tunisia.[2] It is a model for regeneration and development of tissues such as the brain and germline.[3][4]
Distribution
Schmidtea mediterranea is found in some coastal areas and islands in the Western Mediterranean: Catalonia, Menorca, Mallorca, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Tunisia.[2][5][6][7][8]
Ecology
High water temperatures (25-27 °C) have deleterous effects on S. mediterranea populations, while variations in the pH of the water (6.9-8.9) don’t seem to have an important influence on the survival of this species.[2]
S. mediterranea can be found with associated fauna such as gastropods, bivalves, insects, leeches, and nematodes.[2]
Reproduction
The sexual specimens of Schmidtea mediterranea produce cocoons between November and April. In May, when water temperature rises above 20 °C, they lose their reproductive apparatus. Despite this, they don’t reproduce asexually (by fissiparity) during the summer months.[2]
References
- ↑ E.M. Lazaro, A.H. Harrath, G.A. Stocchino, M. Pala, J. Baguna, M. Riutort, Schmidtea mediterranea phylogeography: an old species surviving on a few Mediterranean islands?, BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (2011) 274.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Abdel Halim Harrath, Mohamed Charni, Ronald Sluys, Fathia Zghal & Saida Tekaya (2004). "Ecology and distribution of the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea in Tunisia". Italian Journal of Zoology 71 (3): 233–236. doi:10.1080/11250000409356577.
- ↑ Salo E, Baguñà J: Regeneration in planarians and other worms: New findings, new tools, and new perspectives. Journal of Experimental Zoology 2002, 292(6):528-539.
- ↑ Reddien PW, Sanchez-Alvarado A: Fundamentals of planarian regeneration. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2004, 20:725-757.
- ↑ Benazzi M, Baguñà J, Ballester R, Puccinelli I, Papa RD: Further Contribution to the Taxonomy of the Dugesia lugubris-polychroa Group with Description of Dugesia mediterranea n. sp. (Tricladida, Paludicola). Bolletino di zoologia 1975, 42(1):81-89.
- ↑ Ribas M: Cariologia, sistematica i biogeografia de les Planaries d'aigues dolces al Països Catalans. 1990.
- ↑ Baguñà J. Carranza S, Pala M, Ribera C, Giribet G, Arnedo M, Ribas M, Riutort M: From morphology and kariology to molecules. New methods for taxonomical identification of asexual populations of freshwater planarians. A tribute to Professor Mario Benazzi. Italian Journal of Zoology 1999, 66:207-214.
- ↑ De Vries EJ, Baguñà J, Ball IR: Chromosomal polymorphism in planarians and the plate tectonics of the western Mediterranean. Genetica 1984, 62:187-191.
External links
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