User:Cbsheldon/Pseudocerotidae

Overview
Pseudocerotidae are simple organisms categorized by their oval bodies and tentacles("Marine Speices Identification Portal",n.d.) and bright colors. They use the cilia to glide along surfaces("pseudocerotidae", n.d.). Most commonly referred to as marine flatworms, closely related to the orders Macrostomorpha and Lecithoepitheliata. These organisms have very complex reproductive systems ("Phylum platyhelminthes - flatworms", n.d.), no blood systems or organs for gas exchange, a simple brain and are hermaphroditic("Turbellaria: Tiny, Non-Parasitic Flatworms Including Acoela & Tricladida", n.d.).

Domain: Eukarya

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Platyhelminthes

Class: Turbellaria

Order: Polycladia

Family: Pseudocerotidae

Habitat
Due to the anthropogenic transportation of non-native marine species, their species can be found all around the world in tropical and subtropical waters near coral reefs ("First record of...",2010), shallow reefs, deep waters, water surfaces and in aquaculture areas ("Neotype Designation for the Marine Flatworm...", 2018). The most biodiverse areas with these species are the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions ("Two new ...", 2021).

Diet
The feeding methods of pseudocerotidae are most intriguing, due to their soft bodies and slow movements they must prey on other organisms with little to no movement. This is why their diet is composed of scavenging for various sponges, other stationary or dead invertebrates. They use their sensory detectors to chemically sense their food. The food is digested before entering the body. Then the food travels through their pharynx, "...which can then grow to be the size of the whole flatworm" ("Pseudoceros bifurcus", n.d.).

Phenology
Polycladia are typically distinguished by their hermaphroditic reproductive system and their external anatomy such as their eyespot arrangement, pharynx and tentacles ("Neotype Designation for the Marine Flatworm...", 2018). In an experiment Pseudoceros and Pseudobiceros were previously based on their reproductive systems, the two groups of Pseudocerotidae were divided into groups through their genetic difference. A difference in an expansive segment of 28S rDNA, showed small genetic difference in the species Pseudoceros bifurcus.("A molecular framework...", 2001).

Reproduction
Penis fencing is not purely for reproduction and is not an aggressive battle of insemination, it is a mating ritual that can result in insemination of both individuals willfully. A few species show long term care for their young, this care is typically shown in species that have smaller offspring sizes. While larger offspring sizes with faster development in species cause little care for the young after birth. The egg capsules produced are most commonly smooth and round, except for a few species where they have pointed opercula.("Mating behavior...", 2020). Egg capsules can reach thousands, in a study the number of eggs for two different flatworms were 1,307 and 3,073 ("Penis fencing, spawning,...", n.d.).