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Malacobdella

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Family of ribbon worms

Malacobdella
Malacobdella sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Nemertea
Class: Hoplonemertea
Order: Monostilifera
Family: Malacobdellidae
Blanchard, 1847
Genus: Malacobdella
Blainville, 1827

Malacobdellidae is a monogeneric family within the phylum Nemertea. It is included with the order Hoplonemertea within the class Enopla (formerly in monotypic order Bdellonemertea of the same class).

Morphology

The family, as well as its sole genus Malacobdella, is characterized by a posterior ventral sucker and a proboscis lacking a stylet. As in other Hoplonemertea, the lateral longitudinal nerve cord is located internal to the body wall muscles, in the mesenchyme.

Ecology

Members of Bdellonemertea are all commensal, living in the mantle cavities of bivalves. The only non-marine and non-bivalve hosted species, Malacobdella auriculae, is doubtful. It was described in 1847 by Émile Blanchard on the basis of a single drawing of his colleague and probably wasn't even a nemertean. Malacobdella feed on small food particles that are brought into the mollusk's ctenidia.

References

  1. Tholleson, M. and Norenburg, J.L. (2003). "Ribbon worm relationships: a phylogeny of the phylum Nemertea". Proceedings of the Royal Society B 270: 407-415.
  2. Gibson, R. (1972). Nemerteans. Hutchinson & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-09-111990-1.
  3. Brusca, R.C. and Brusca, G.J. (2003). "Phylum Nemertea: The Ribbon Worms". Invertebrates (2 ed.) Sinauer Associates, Inc. p.329. ISBN 0-87893-097-3.
  4. Pechenik, J.A. (2005). "The Nemertines". Biology of the Invertebrates (5 ed.) McGraw-Hill. p. 205. ISBN 0-07-234899-2.
  5. Kozloff, E. N. (1991). "Malacobdella siliquae sp. nov. and Malacobdella macomae sp. nov., commensal nemerteans from bivalve molluscs on the Pacific coast of North America". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 69 (6): 1612–1618. doi:10.1139/z91-225.
Taxon identifiers
Malacobdella
Malacobdellidae


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