TURBELLARIA Meaning and
Definition
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Turbellaria refers to a class of free-living flatworms or planarians that belong to the phylum Platyhelminthes. These organisms are characterized by their soft, flattened bodies with bilateral symmetry. The name "Turbellaria" is derived from the Latin word "turbidus," which means shaky or agitated, to describe their rapid, undulating movement.
Turbellarians are commonly found in freshwater and marine habitats across the globe. They possess a simple digestive system with a mouth located ventrally and an excretory system that consists of flame cells. They do not possess a respiratory or circulatory system and instead rely on oxygen diffusion across their thin, flattened body surface.
The majority of turbellarians are hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female reproductive organs. They reproduce asexually through fission or fragmentation, in which a portion of the parent body detaches and develops into a new individual. Sexual reproduction may also occur, involving the exchange of sperm between two individuals. Fertilized eggs are generally enclosed within capsules and released into the environment.
Turbellarians are known for their ability to regenerate body parts, even from small fragments. They exhibit a wide range of feeding habits, with some being predators and scavengers, while others are herbivores or parasites. They usually feed on small organisms, such as tiny invertebrates, bacteria, and decaying matter.
Turbellarians play essential roles in various aquatic ecosystems as decomposers, controlling the population of other organisms, and as indicators of environmental health. They have also become important model organisms in fields such as regeneration and stem cell research, due to their remarkable regenerative capacity and relative simplicity.
Common Misspellings for TURBELLARIA
- rurbellaria
- furbellaria
- gurbellaria
- yurbellaria
- 6urbellaria
- 5urbellaria
- tyrbellaria
- thrbellaria
- tjrbellaria
- tirbellaria
- t8rbellaria
- t7rbellaria
- tuebellaria
- tudbellaria
- tufbellaria
- tutbellaria
- tu5bellaria
- tu4bellaria
- turvellaria
Etymology of TURBELLARIA
The word "Turbellaria" is derived from the Latin word "turbellae", which means "a little trouble" or "a little agitation". It is a combined form of the Latin words "turba" meaning "disturbance" and the diminutive suffix "-ella" meaning "little". The term was coined by the German zoologist Karl Georg Friedrich Rudolph Leuckart in 1847 to describe a class of freeliving flatworms that have characteristic ciliary locomotion, which gives the impression of agitation or disturbance when observed under a microscope.
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