User:CloodM

Chosen Article: Genus Pseudoceros

Current Information: Scientific classification, one image, says that Pseudoceros is a genus of flatworm, and has list of species within the genus according to the Turbellarian Taxonomic Database.

Current Citations (not the ones I am adding, these are already there):

1. Die polycladen (seeplanarien) des golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden meeres-abschnitte. Arnold Lang (published 1883)
2. Turbellarian Taxonomic Database
3. VI. On thirty‐one Species of Marine Planarians, collected partly by the late Dr. Kelaart, F.L.S., at Trincomalee, and partly by Dr. Collingwood, F.L.S., in the Eastern Seas (published 1876)

My Citations:

1. Hyman, L.H. "The polyclad genus Pseudoceros, with special reference to the Indo-Pacific region." Pacific Science, vol. 8, 1954.
2. Cannon, L.R.G. "Pseudoceros (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida) from the Indo-Pacific with twelve new species from Australia and Papua New Guinea." The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 1998.
3. Livaitis, M.K., Newman, L.J. "A molecular framework for the phylogeny of the Pseudocerotidae (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida)." Hydrobiologia, 2001.
4. Newman, L.J., Cannon, L.R.G. "The importance of the fixation of colour, pattern and form in tropical Pseudocerotidae (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida)." Developments in Hydrobiology, 1995. (108, 141–143.--if I can get access to it)
5. Rawlinson, K.A., Litvaitis, M.K. "Cotylea (Polycladida): a cladistic analysis of morphology." Invertebrate Biology, 2008.
6. Tong, S.J.W., Ong, R.S.L. "Mating behavior, spawning, parental care, and embryonic development of some marine pseudocerotid flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Rhabditophora: Polycladida) in Singapore." Invertebrate Biology, 2020.
7. Chim, C.K., Ong, R.S.L., "Penis fencing, spawning, parental care and embryonic development in the cotylean flatworm Pseudoceros indicus (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) from Singapore." The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2015.
8. Lidsay-Mosher, N., Pearson, B.J. "The true colours of the flatworm: Mechanisms of pigment biosynthesis and pigment cell lineage development in planarians." Seminars in cell & developmental biology, 2019. (these are not final citations yet)

Pseudoceros

Genus of Platyhelminthes which are...

There are currently X number of species identified within this genus (link to the species list that comes later on in the article that already exists).

Description

Easily recognizable features include: rumed pharynx, anastomosed intestine that branches from the main intestine, and marginal tentacles as upfolds of the anterior margin, as described by Hyman (1)

The species are very similar in their construction (think anatomy, insides) and that makes it difficult to distinguish them beyond their coloring, which varies between species and can be very complex (1)

Color is the main identifier within the family Pseudocerotidae to separate it into genera, since internal reproductive anatomy is practically indistinguishable between genera (2)

The intense coloring and patterning on these flatworms could be used to camouflage with their surroundings, confuse and elude predators, to communicate with other members of the species, or as aposematism to warn predators of their deadly toxins. The cells and the pigments they contain that are responsible for this coloring have not been well-studied, but one common theory is that they may be ommochrome pigments, although no discoveries have been made to prove this. (8)

It is assumed that chemical cues are how these organisms can recognize their own species and differentiate between others (2)

Distribution

Found in tropical and subtropical waters and are populous in the Indo-Pacific region (1)

Reproduction

Sexual

Random hypodermic insemination through the body tissue(3)

Pseudoceros larvae generally hatch with reddish-purple pigments, except Pseudoceros bicolor, which hatches larvae with orange pigments instead (6)

History & Taxonomy

There is currently no consensus on what the best method for identifying flatworms is--the two main theories are that species can be identified based solely on color patterns (supported by Hyman and Prudhoe) and that species should be identified based on their reproductive organs (supported by Faubel). (3)

As of 2000, there are 13 genera in the family Pseudocerotidae that are comprised of an estimate of at least 500 species, of which the genus Pseudoceros made up about 75% until the genus Pseudobiceros was separated. (3)

In 1995, a new method of preserving Pseudoceros samples was developed by Cannon and Newman which enabled scientists to preserve their coloration as well as their bodies. This method utilizes FCA-PGPP, or Formaldehyde Calcium Acetate-Propylene Glycol, Propylene Phenoxetol, as the fixative. The worms are placed onto filter paper which is placed on top of a frozen layer of the fixative (4)