Rotaria is a genus of asexual, microscopic animal known as a bdelloid rotifer. Analysis published in 2007 of morphology and DNA sequence data of species from the genus confirmed that despite their asexual mechanism of reproduction, two fundamental properties of species, independent evolution and ecological divergence by natural selection occurred. This demonstrates that sex is not a necessary condition for speciation.[2]

Rotaria
(A) R. neptunia, lateral view; (B) R. macrura, ventral view; (C) R. tardigrada, dorsal view; (D) R. sordida, lateral view; and (E) trophi of R. tardigrada
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Rotifera
Class: Bdelloidea
Order: Bdelloida
Family: Philodinidae
Genus: Rotaria
Scopoli, 1777
Species

Rotaria citrina
Rotaria macrura
Rotaria magnacalcarata
Rotaria neptunia
Rotaria neptunoida
Rotaria rotatoria
Rotaria socialis
Rotaria sordida
Rotaria tardigrada
Rotaria sp. CWB-2005[1]

Synonyms
  • Rotifer vulgaris = Rotaria rotatoria

References

edit
  1. ^ NCBI. Rotaria
  2. ^ Independently Evolving Species in Asexual Bdelloid Rotifers Fontaneto D, Herniou EA, Boschetti C, Caprioli M, Melone G, et al. PLoS Biology Vol. 5, No. 4, e87 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050087