Dugesia sicula is a species of dugesiid triclad that lives in freshwater bodies of the Mediterranean Basin, where it is widely distributed. It has been reported from Sicily,[1] Elba and Mallorca,[2] Eivissa,[3] Sardinia,[4] Algeria,[5] Tunisia,[6] Morocco[7] and Crete.[8]
| Dugesia sicula | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Order: | Tricladida |
| Family: | Dugesiidae |
| Genus: | Dugesia |
| Species: | D. sicula
|
| Binomial name | |
| Dugesia sicula Lepori, 1948
| |
Morphology edit
D. sicula individuals have an asymmetrical penis papilla, with a diaphragm at the base, separating the seminal vesicle from the ejaculatory duct. This duct is ventral and it opens subterminally. The seminal vesicle is wrapped by a thin layer of bulbar muscles. The penis papilla is weakly muscular and more parenchymatic.[8]
Reproduction edit
D. sicula is known to reproduce sexual and asexually.[1]
Phylogeny edit
D. sicula position in relation with other Dugesia species after the work of Lázaro et al., 2009:[9]
References edit
- ^ a b Lepori, N.G., 1948. Descrizione di Dugesia sicula, nuova sp. di Triclade d'acqua dolce dei dintorni di Catania. Arch. Zool. Ital. 33: 461–472
- ^ Benazzi, M. (1961): "Les planaires des ïles tyrrhéniennes et leur differenciation raciale, cytologique et génétique". Le peuplement des ïles mediterranéennes et le problème de l'insularité, (ed. CNRS, Paris), pp. 103–112.
- ^ Ribas M., Pala M., Vacca R. A., Riutort M., Baguñà J. "Taxonomical status of the Western Mediterranean asexual populations of the Dugesia (D) gonocephala group: Morphological, Karyological and Biochemical data". Fortschr. Zool. 36: 129-137 (1988)
- ^ Stocchino et al., 2005 G.A. Stocchino, G. Corso, R. Manconi, S. Casu and M. Pala, "Endemic freshwater planarians of Sardinia: Redescription of Dugesia hepta (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) with a comparison of the Mediterranean species of the genus", Journal of Natural History 39 (2005), pp. 1947–1960.
- ^ Vries, E D. J. (1988). A synopsis of the nominal species of the subgenus Dugesia (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Paludicola) from Africa and Madagascar. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 92, 345–382.
- ^ Charni, M., Harrath, A. H., Sluys, R., Tekaya, S., and Zghal, F. (2004). "The freshwater planarian Dugesia sicula Lepori, 1948 (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) in Tunisia: ecology, karyology, and morphology". Hydrobiologia 517, 161–170.
- ^ Stocchino, G A., Manconi R., Corso G., Sluys R., Casu S., & Pala M., 2009. "African planarians: morphology and karyology of Dugesia maghrebiana sp. n. (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) from Tunisia". Italian Journal of Zoology; 76(1): 83-91
- ^ a b De Vries, EJ, 1988. "On the identity and occurrence of Dugesia sicula and D. biblica (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Paludicola) in the Mediterranean region". Fortschritte der Zoologie 36: 405–411.
- ^ Lazaro, E. M., Sluys, R., Pala, M., Stocchino, G. A., Baguna, J., & Riutort, M. (2009). "Molecular barcoding and phylogeography of sexual and asexual freshwater planarians of the genus Dugesia in the Western Mediterranean (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Dugesiidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 52(3), 835–845.
External links edit
