The Maritigrella crozierae, or the Tiger Flatworm, is a free-living flatworm that is a part of the Platyhelminthes Phylum. Its full taxonomic classification from kingdom to species is, in order: Animallia, Platyhelminthes, Turbellaria, Polychladida, Eurylephidae, Maritigrella, and Crozieri.
Tiger Flatworms live in Saltwater. The areas they typically inhabit are the islands around the Caribbean and the Bermuda. These flatworms feed on orange tunicates, a sessile marine invertebrate that has a saclike body enclosed in a thick membrane or “tunic”. They eat these exclusively, meaning that they do not eat anything else in the world except for orange tunicates. Because these animals are sessile, the Tiger Flatworm has little to no difficulty with eating them. This mono-diet, which means to only eat one thing, gives the …show more content…
They can reproduce asexually or sexually. They could reproduce asexually through fission, or sexually through “penis fencing”. Penis fencing is a reproductive practice that is practiced by only free living flatworms. In penis fencing, each of the individuals has the opportunity to inject the other with the male gametophyte, or sperm. All flatworms have the male reproductive organ, or the “penis”. They also all have both male and female reproduction systems. When two flatworms are ready to commence the act of reproducing, they both erect their reproductive organs and attempt to pierce through the epidermis of the other flatworm. Once one of the flatworms have successfully pierced its penis through the other’s skin, then the injection process takes place. “Sperm is then transferred between individuals bilaterally in bundles (Newman et. al 2000). These sperm bundles travel up the parenchyma to the oviducts and fertilize the eggs, which are set down in egg masses. These eggs hatch into free swimming larvae in approximately 10 days.” (http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/
Tiger Flatworms live in Saltwater. The areas they typically inhabit are the islands around the Caribbean and the Bermuda. These flatworms feed on orange tunicates, a sessile marine invertebrate that has a saclike body enclosed in a thick membrane or “tunic”. They eat these exclusively, meaning that they do not eat anything else in the world except for orange tunicates. Because these animals are sessile, the Tiger Flatworm has little to no difficulty with eating them. This mono-diet, which means to only eat one thing, gives the …show more content…
They can reproduce asexually or sexually. They could reproduce asexually through fission, or sexually through “penis fencing”. Penis fencing is a reproductive practice that is practiced by only free living flatworms. In penis fencing, each of the individuals has the opportunity to inject the other with the male gametophyte, or sperm. All flatworms have the male reproductive organ, or the “penis”. They also all have both male and female reproduction systems. When two flatworms are ready to commence the act of reproducing, they both erect their reproductive organs and attempt to pierce through the epidermis of the other flatworm. Once one of the flatworms have successfully pierced its penis through the other’s skin, then the injection process takes place. “Sperm is then transferred between individuals bilaterally in bundles (Newman et. al 2000). These sperm bundles travel up the parenchyma to the oviducts and fertilize the eggs, which are set down in egg masses. These eggs hatch into free swimming larvae in approximately 10 days.” (http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/