Girardia Explained

Girardia should not be confused with Giardia.

Girardia is a genus of freshwater planarians belonging to the family Dugesiidae.

Distribution

The genus Girardia is endemic to the Americas, from Argentina to Canada, although most species occur in South America. The only two species known to occur naturally in North America, Girardia tigrina and Girardia dorotocephala, have been introduced in other continents and islands.[1]

Description

Species of Girardia are very similar to species of other genera of Dugesiidae and few apomorphies that clearly define the genus are known. One of the few exclusive characteristics is the presence of pigment granules in the outer pharyngeal wall.[2]

Until 1991 Girardia was considered a subgenus of Dugesia, then it was upgraded to the genus rank. However, some works continued to use the old genus for some Girardia species, mainly for Girardia dorotocephala and Girardia tigrina.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Species

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic tree including five dugesiid genera after Álvarez-Presas et al., 2008:[13]

Notes and References

  1. Sluys . Ronald . Kawakatsu . Masaharu . Ponce de León . Rodrigo . Morphological stasis in an old and widespread group of species: Contribution to the taxonomy and biogeography of the genus Girardia (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Paludicola) . Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment . 40 . 2 . 2005 . 155–180 . 0165-0521 . 10.1080/01650520500070220. 85111893 .
  2. De Vries . E. J. . Sluys . R. . 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04752.x . Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Dugesia (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Paludicola) . Journal of Zoology . 223 . 1. 103–116. 1991 .
  3. Sheiman . I. M. . Kreshchenko . N. D. . Sedel'Nikov . Z. V. . Groznyi . A. V. . Morphogenesis in Planarians Dugesia tigrina . 10.1023/B:RUDO.0000036713.86633.c2 . Russian Journal of Developmental Biology . 35 . 4 . 285–290 . 2004 . 15487347 . 37421242 .
  4. Lombardo . P. . Giustini . M. . Miccoli . F. P. . Cicolani . B. . Fine-scale differences in diel activity among nocturnal freshwater planarias (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida) . 10.1186/1740-3391-9-2 . Journal of Circadian Rhythms . 9 . 2 . 2011 . 21477354. 3094315 . free .
  5. Hassall . C. . Hollinshead . J. . Hull . A. . 10.1007/s10531-011-0223-9 . Temporal dynamics of aquatic communities and implications for pond conservation . Biodiversity and Conservation . 21 . 3 . 829 . 2012 . 383505 .
  6. Prados . J. . Alvarez . B. . Howarth . J. . Stewart . K. . Gibson . C. L. . Hutchinson . C. V. . Young . A. M. J. . Davidson . C. . Cue competition effects in the planarian . 10.1007/s10071-012-0561-3 . Animal Cognition . 16 . 2 . 177–186 . 2012 . 22976576. 18006796 .
  7. Hellmann . Lindsey . Leal-Zanchet . Ana Maria . Ferreira . Rodrigo Lopes . Two new sympatric troglobitic freshwater flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Dugesiidae) from a hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in the Neotropics . Zootaxa . 4438 . 3 . 2018 . 561–574 . 1175-5334 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4438.3.8. 30313136.
  8. Hellmann . Lindsey . Ferreira . Rodrigo Lopes . Rabelo . Lucas . Leal-Zanchet . Ana . Enhancing the still scattered knowledge on the taxonomic diversity of freshwater triclads (Platyhelminthes: Dugesiidae) in caves from two Brazilian Biomes . Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment . 2020 . 57 . 2 . 1–16 . 0165-0521 . 10.1080/01650521.2020.1829901. 229476175 .
  9. Benítez-Álvarez . L. . Leria . L. . Fernández . R. . Mateos . E. . El Ouanighi . Y. . Bennas . N. . El Alami . M. . Yacoubi-Khebiza . M. . Ayt Ougougdal . H. . Riutort . M. . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . Phylotranscriptomics interrogation uncovers a complex evolutionary history for the planarian genus Dugesia (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) in the Western Mediterranean . 178 . 107649 . 2023 . 1055-7903 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107649. 2445/193375 . free .
  10. Morais . Ana Laura . Bichuette . Maria Elina . Chagas-Júnior . Amazonas . Leal-Zanchet . Ana . Under threat: Two new troglobitic species of Girardia (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida) from sandstone and limestone caves in Brazil . Zoologischer Anzeiger . July 2021 . 293 . 292–302 . 0044-5231 . 10.1016/j.jcz.2021.06.015 .
  11. Souza . Stella . Morais . Ana Laura . Bichuette . Maria Elina . Leal-Zanchet . Ana . Two new species of freshwater flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Continenticola) from South American caves . Zootaxa . 4092 . 1 . 2016 . 107–121 . 1175-5334 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4092.1.6. 27394369.
  12. Leal-Zanchet . Ana Maria . Souza . Stella Teles . Nunes Morais . Ana Laura . Cordeiro . Lívia Medeiros . The first troglobitic species of freshwater flatworm of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) from South America . ZooKeys . 470 . 2015 . 1–16 . 1313-2970 . 10.3897/zookeys.470.8728. 25632242 . 4304035 . free .
  13. Álvarez-Presas . M. . Baguñà . J. . Riutort . M. . 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.01.032 . Molecular phylogeny of land and freshwater planarians (Tricladida, Platyhelminthes): From freshwater to land and back . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 47 . 2 . 555–568 . 2008 . 18359250.

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