| Symsagittifera roscoffensis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Acoelomorpha |
| Class: | Acoela |
| Order: | Acoela |
| Family: | Sagittiferidae |
| Genus: | Symsagittifera |
| Species: | S. roscoffensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Symsagittifera roscoffensis (Graff, 1891) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Convoluta roscoffensis Graff, 1891 |
|
Symsagittifera roscoffensis, formerly called Convoluta roscoffensis, is a free-living acoelomorph worm.
Contents |
Symsagittifera roscoffensis is a small (about 15 mm long) flat worm. Due to the algae, Tetraselmis convolutae, which it assimilates into its body cavity, it has green colour.[1] Its common name in the Channel Islands is "mint sauce worm" by reason of its appearance.
In its adult stage, the worm lives off the excesses of its symbiotic algae, although the mouth is still present posteriorly to the statocyst. The worm provides shelter and some nutritional benefits in return.
The worm can be found in shallow water on sheltered sand beaches along most of the Atlantic Coast (including the coasts of Wales, Brittany, the North of Spain and Portugal).
The genus name was originally spelled Simsagittifera; Mamkaev & Kostenko corrected it in 1991 to Symsagittifera but Faubel et al. (2004) maintain that Simsagittifera should be retained.[2]
Symsagittifera roscoffensis is one of the model organisms for studying the development of bilaterians.
