Macrostomum rostratum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Macrostomum rostratum | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Order: | Macrostomida |
| Family: | Macrostomidae |
| Genus: | Macrostomum |
| Species: | M. rostratum |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrostomum rostratum Papi, 1959[1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Macrostomum rostratum is a free-living, hermaphroditic flatworm in the family Macrostomidae, found in freshwater and brackish environments.
Macrostomum rostratum is colourless and between 0.2 and 2 mm (0.01 and 0.08 in) in length. There are a pair of small eyes at the anterior end and a longitudinal-slit mouth on the ventral surface just behind these. A short pharynx leads from the mouth to a simple gut. Also on the ventral surface, the female gonopore, which is shaped like a rosette, is in front of the male gonopore and penis which are half way along the flatworm. The posterior end of the worm bears an adhesive plate and can spread out to stick to a surface, and the edge of this region bears rodlike rhabdites (defensive structures) in the tissues.[2][3]