White planaria: appearance and structure

Each aquarist faced uninvited guests in his aquarium.
Among them may be a white planar. It is brought into the aquarium, usually with snails, water plants, as well as with live or even frozen fodder.

White planaria is a hermaphroditic worm. Completely viable planarians are derived from deferred eggs. They live on the ground, in its thickness, on aquatic plants or in the water column. It is worth noting how tenacious the white planar. Its structure is such that if an adult is cut into many pieces, then, no matter how parasitic, but an entire organism can fully recover from each piece.

The appearance of the white planaria is rather unordinary and easily distinguishable from other species. Planaria lacks respiratory organs. Enrichment of her body with oxygen is produced by the whole surface, and for protection she is able to excrete cutaneous bitter mucus. Her eggs are resistant not only to freezing, but also to high temperatures. They withstand drought and are not afraid of chemical treatment.
The appearance of the white planaria is extremely unpleasant, but, in addition, it does great harm. If you leave it in the aquarium without attention, then soon it will decrease the number of snails, crustaceans and even aquarium fish. Artful worms in search of food crawl under crustacean crustaceans and slaughter their gills, leading to suffocation. They love food rich in protein, so their favorite delicacies are crustacean eggs, and crustaceans themselves at the time of molting. Often planarians attack snails and fish.

White planaria, body structure

The mouth opening is located on the belly and leads into the cavity where the retractable pharynx is located. When grasping animals food, the pharynx, like a trunk, is pulled outward. It has its own musculature and its own innervation. If it is torn off, the throat itself will continue its movement and begin to wriggle. Further, the food enters the intestine, which consists of 3 branches with multiple divisions.

White planaria are flat, ciliated whitish-pink worms with a triangular head shape. Milk planaria can reach a length of 15-26 mm with a diameter of about 6 mm. Its head end has a blunt cut, and the back is rounded. Immediately behind the front edge of the body are black eyes. Under its base is a suction groove. Dairy planaria, like other species, hides under rocks or on leaves.

Planaria are predators. They have a strong sense of smell. Planaria, sensing prey, pushing the pharynx, goes directly to her. However, they can withstand long hunger strikes, losing weight while decreasing in size.

Eggs of the planaria are in a dense shell. As a rule, they are shelved in the most secure and protected places. Each clutch contains hundreds of yolk and dozens of egg cells. The first are designed to provide nutrition to embryos in the development process.

The planar reaction to unfavorable conditions, for example, lack of oxygen, an increase in temperature in the habitat, etc., is remarkable. The white planar in such cases can decay into pieces, which regenerate at the moment of favorable conditions in whole animals. This process of autotomy or self-mutilation. Many forms are capable of dividing into parts even under standard conditions. This may well be regarded as a special form of reproduction. No less amazing is the ability of the planaria to restore lost parts of the body - regeneration. Even the smallest part of her body has the ability to completely restore the whole organism with all the necessary organs. This feature ensures the preservation of her life. Other protective devices of the planaria include skin glands that allow the individual to be firmly attached to the surface where it creeps.

It is quite difficult to destroy such a parasite in an aquarium, but it is still possible.