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Turbellaria

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Turbellaria

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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 to large freshwater forms more than long or terrestrial species like Bipalium kewense which can reach 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

AI overview

Turbellaria are a major group of flatworms containing about 4,500 species that are not parasitic, ranging from tiny organisms to large freshwater and land-dwelling forms that can exceed several centimeters in length. They are notable for their flat or ribbon-like body shapes, which allow them to survive without respiratory or circulatory systems by relying on diffusion to transport nutrients internally.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Species

flatworms

Turbellaria

CLASS

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumPlatyhelminthes
  3. ClassTurbellaria
Habitatmarine
Observations recorded61,661

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
3,792
With media
373
Collections
YPM, CAS, USNM
Recorded in
United States, Ecuador

Research

2,453 papers

via PubMed

~9 min read

Encyclopedic overview

10 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Features common to all Platyhelminthes
  • Features specific to Turbellaria
  • Diet and digestion
  • Nervous system
  • Reproduction
  • Taxonomy and evolution
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

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 to large freshwater forms more than long or terrestrial species like Bipalium kewense which can reach 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 are paraphyletic.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Turbellaria” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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