Waminoa

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Waminoa
Waminoa species on a bladder coral (Plerogyra sinuosa)

Waminoa species on a bladder coral ( Plerogyra sinuosa )

Systematics
without rank: Bilateria
Trunk : Xenacoelomorpha
Sub-stem : Acoelomorpha
Class : Acoela
Family : Convolutidae
Genre : Waminoa
Scientific name
Waminoa
Winsor , 1990

Waminoa is a genus of marine, tropical, and subtropical Acoela in the Convolutidae family. The generic name Waminoa is a word from the Aboriginal language , means companion and refers to the occurrence of this acoela on corals .

description

Winsor described the genus, at that time still in the family Haploposthiidae, as from disk-shaped to inverted heart-shaped shape. The color results from pigments and the symbiotic algae that they harbor, often two types of algae at the same time. The brain is sunken under the epidermis, the mouth opening on the underside of the body in the front third of the body. Rhabdites are present, ovaries and testicles are paired. Bursa with paired bursal canals lying on the side. There is a subterminal male genital pore. The male atrium is eyelashed. According to Winsor, statocysts with statoliths and eyes are missing , but according to the generic correction by Ogunlana et al. present in immature animals. Frontal glands, female genital pores and penis are absent.

Way of life

Waminoa live as epibionts on the surface of corals. They not only feed on their symbiotic algae, but also on the mucus that the host corals release. Coral tissue does not seem to absorb them. When found in high density on corals, they can shadow the host's symbionts. Waminoa are also considered to be epibiontic parasites as they can affect coral growth and health. In addition to the negative effects of shadowing and recording of mucus they compete with the host coral to zooplankton as prey and already assume from coral captured zooplankton ( Kleptoparasitism ).

Systematics

Winsor created the genus in the family Haploposthiidae, the relatively simple copulatory organ of the new genus and its location were characteristic of this family. He saw a certain similarity to the species of the genus Haplodiscus . The relatively large body length, the symbiotic algae and the pair of eye spots of Waminoa and Haplodiscus, however, suit the species of the family Convolutidae . In addition to the reduction of the tubular, muscular penis to a tiny copulatory organ, 18S rRNA sequence data also indicate that it belongs to the Convolutidae family, so that Ogunlana et al. 2005 transferred the genus Waminoa to the family Convolutidae.

From Waminoa two types are described:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c P. Biondi, GD Masucci, S. Kunihiro, JD Reimer: Distribution of the flatworm Waminoa spp. on the west coast of Okinawa, Japan. ( Poster Online )
  2. ^ A b c Leigh Winsor: Marine Turbellaria (Acoela) from North Queensland. In: Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 28: 785-800, January 1990. ( Online )
  3. ↑ a b c d Maxina Ogunlana, Matthew Hooge, Orit Barneah, Yonas Tekle, Seth Tyler (2005): Waminoa brickneri n. Sp. (Acoela: Acoelomorpha) associated with corals in the Red Sea. In: Zootaxa. 1009, pp 1-14. ( Online )
  4. ↑ Tim Wijgerde, Pauke Schots, Eline Van Onselen, Max Janse, Eric Karruppannan, Johan AJ Verreth, Ronald Osinga: Epizoic acoelomorph flatworms impair zooplankton feeding by the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis. In: Biology open Vol. 2, 1 (2013), pp. 10-7. PMC 3545264 (free full text)
  5. ↑ Waminoa Winsor, 1990 at World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

Web links

Commons : Waminoa  - collection of images, videos and audio files