What is a planarian?
A planarian is one of many flatworms of the traditional class Turbellaria. It usually describes free-living flatworms of the order Tricladida ( triclads ), although this common name is also used for a wide number of free-living platyhelminthes.
What is the digestive system like in planaria?
They have a single-opening digestive tract; in Tricladida planarians this consists of one anterior branch and two posterior branches. Planarians move by beating cilia on the ventral dermis, allowing them to glide along on a film of mucus.
What is the most common planaria species used in the lab?
The most frequently used planarian in high school and first-year college laboratories is the brownish Girardia tigrina. Other common species used are the blackish Planaria maculata and Girardia dorotocephala.
Are the products of bisecting planaria similar to planarian asexual reproduction?
Some researchers claim that the products derived from bisecting planarian are similar to the products of planarian asexual reproduction; however, debates about the nature of asexual reproduction in planaria and its effect on the population are ongoing.
What type of cilia do Planaria have?
Planarians are free-living invertebrates that employ motile cilia for locomotion. Specifically, cilia that populate the ventral epithelium of the planarian body are highly conserved, with a 9 + 2 axoneme and a full complement of inner and outer arm dynein motors.
What is Planaria torva?
In the United Kingdom, P. torva is a successful predator of the invasive New Zealand mud snail ( Potamopyrgus jenkinsi ). The following species are recognised in the genus Planaria :
Why are planaria used to study the process of regeneration?
Because of their remarkable ability to regenerate lost parts, planarians are often used experimentally to study the process of regeneration. In the flatworm Planaria, the brain consists of two cerebral ganglia (clusters of nerve cells) from which nerve cords extend the length of the body.