Macrostomum rostratum

Macrostomum rostratum is a free-living, hermaphroditic flatworm in the family Macrostomidae, found in freshwater and brackish environments.

Macrostomum rostratum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Rhabditophora
Order: Macrostomida
Family: Macrostomidae
Genus: Macrostomum
Species:
M. rostratum
Binomial name
Macrostomum rostratum
Papi, 1959[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Macrostomum appendiculatum Beklemischev, 1922
  • Macrostomum phytophilum Beklemischev, 1951
  • Macrostomum viride rostrata Papi, 1951

Description

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]

Distribution and habitat

Macrostomum rostratum occurs sporadically in the European coastline in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, typically in the splash zone in both fresh and salt water. It is present in rock pools at Oxwich Bay and Port Erin in Wales, and in these locations it is found on sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca).[2] Further afield, it has been recorded from a brackish coastal wetland in Peru.[4] Another place where it occurs is the heated Konin Lakes, water bodies in central Poland where the water temperature is raised by the water being discharged from power stations.[5]

Ecology

Nematodes have been found parasitizing Macrostomum rostratum.[6] The structure of the male copulatory device with its curved stylet may indicate that this species exhibits a hypodermic mating system.[4]

References
  1. Faubel, Anno (2018). "Macrostomum rostratum Papi, 1959". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. Hayward, Peter J.; Ryland, John Stanley (2017). Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-19-954944-3.
  3. Walker, J.C.; Anderson, D.T. (1998). "The Platyhelminthes, Nemertea, Entoprocta and Gnathostomulida". In D.T. Anderson (ed.). Invertebrate Zoology (1 ed.). Oxford University Press Australia. pp. 79–85. ISBN 0-19-553941-9.
  4. Reyes, J.; Brusa, F. (2017). "Species of Macrostomum (Macrostomorpha: Macrostomidae) from the coastal region of Lima, Peru, with comments on M. rostratum Papi, 1951". Zootaxa. 4362 (2): 246–258. doi:10.11646/Zootaxa.4362.2.4.
  5. Aleksander Wróblewski (1977). Bottom fauna of the heated Konin lakes. Państ. Wydaw. Naukowe. p. 43.
  6. Scientific Publication - Freshwater Biological Association. Freshwater Biological Association. 2000. p. 93.
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