Planaria
(a flatworm)
Polycelis felina
Description
P. felina
• are nonparasitic. They do
not suck blood like leeches.
• are about 1 centimeter
long.
• avoid light
Description
P. felina
• are flat with heads shaped
like an arrow point.
• move by twisting, turning,
stretching, and contracting
its body.
Food
P. falina are carnivores.
• They eat decaying meat,
• insects,
• and larvae.
Method of Feeding
P. falina
• have a feeding tube in the
middle of its ventral side.
• secrete digestive enzymes
from a single feeding tube to
begin external digestion.
• suck up food through its
feeding tube.
• eliminate waste through the
same tube it eats with.
Digestion
P. falina
• have three germ
layers and a single
digestive cavity.
• have branched
intestines throughout
the body
Planarian Traps
Habitat
• Some planarians live in
saltwater.
• Some live in fresh water.
• Some live under logs and
in the soil.
Adaptations
P. felina
• secretes a slimy mucus.
• has cilia on its belly that
help it glide on a film of
mucus.
Adaptations
P. falina
• have two eye spots that cannot see objects, but
only detect the brightness of light.
Adaptations
P. falina
• Take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide by
diffusion through its skin.
O2
CO2
Adaptations
P. felina
• can regrow lost body
parts.
• if cut in half, can regrow
each half into two
separate individuals.
Video
(Planarian Regeneration and stem cells)
Bibliography
Slide 1:
http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/6162
Slides 2-4:
https://www.ebiomedia.com/the-biology-classics-planaria-feeding.html
Slides 3-7:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planarian
Slides 8-9:
http://raven.islandwood.org/kids/stream_health/macros/Planaria.html
Slide 10-12:
http://gardener.wikia.com/wiki/Planaria
Slide 13: http://mcb.illinois.edu/news/feature/270/
Video: http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/planarianregeneration-and-stem-cells