Platyhelminthes - Blog Posts

Planaria is a common organism used for scientific research and classroom teaching. It has a great power of regeneration and it reproduces asexually which adds to research interest in it. As Planaria is probably the best known of the free-living platyhelminthes, it is largely used in intensive research related to cellular regeneration and pattern formation. Planaria are common to many parts of the world, living in both saltwater and freshwater ponds and rivers. Some species are terrestrial and are found under logs, in or on the soil, and on plants in humid areas. The triclads are characterized by triply branched intestine and anteriorly situated ovaries, next to the brain. Today the order Tricladida is split into three suborders, according to their phylogenetic relationships: Maricola, Cavernicola and Continenticola. Formerly, the Tricladida was split according to habitats: Maricola, which is marine; Paludicola which inhabits freshwater; and Terricola, which is land-dwelling.