Rhabdocoela

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Rhabdocoela
Strongylostoma elongatum spinosum.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Subphylum: Rhabditophora
Order: Rhabdocoela
Ehrenberg, 1831
Suborders

Rhabdocoela is an order of

flatworms in the class Rhabditophora with about 1700 species described worldwide. The order was first described in 1831 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.[1] Most of rhabdocoels are free-living organisms, but some live symbiotically with other animals.[2]

Description

Although Rhabdocoela is a highly supported group in molecular studies, there is no clear morphological

synapomorphy that unites them. All rhabdocoels have a bulbous pharynx, but this is shared with other flatworm groups, such as Neodermata, Lecithoepitheliata and some species of Prolecithophora.[3]

Some possibly identified synapomorphies are found in the

basal bodies during spermiogenesis, but some groups have lost this feature.[3]

Classification

Rhabdocoels were traditionally classified in two groups, Dalyellioida and Typhloplanoida, although this system was suspected to be artificial. Later, molecular studies have shown that these groups were not monophyletic.

Tricladida and Prolecithophora. The group Kalyptorhynchia, previously a subgroup of Thyphloplanoida, appears to be the sister-group of most other rhabdocoels, which form a clade named Dalytyphloplanida.[3] Recently, a third group, Mariplanellida, was erected based on molecular phylogeny.[5]

Ecology

Most rhabdocoels are freshwater organisms. Some groups, such as

cladocerans.[6] Others feed on algae and may incorporate them in their tissues.[7]

The

mollusks, and turtles.[8]

References

  1. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rhabdocoela". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  2. S2CID 86369823
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 85917387
    .
  4. ISSN 0024-4066
    .
  5. S2CID 246467772
    .
  6. S2CID 85379992
    .
  7. ISSN 0007-1617
    .
  8. S2CID 85828730
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhabdocoela&oldid=1130578214"