Planaria is a genusofplanarians in the family Planariidae.
Due to its excellent ability to regenerate, species of Planaria has also been used as model organisms in regeneration studies.[1] When an individual is cut into pieces, each piece has the ability to regenerate into a fully formed individual.[2] When decapitated, they retain their memories.[3]
Various species of Planaria have been widely used as model invertebrate organisms in pharmacological research, in particular in the studies of the drugs of abuse.[4] They were also proposed as models in toxicological research.[5]
Currently the genus Planaria is defined as freshwater triclads with oviducts that unite to form a common oviduct without embracing the bursa copulatrix and with an adenodactyl present in the male atrium. The testes occur along the whole body.[6]
Planaria originally have habitats in dark, murky water which results in such sensitivity (Paskin et al., 2014). They are also sensitive to other stimuli such as chemical gradients, vibration, magnetic and electric fields (Deochand et al., 2018). Their central nervous system includes the anterior (head, brain and eyes) and middle (abdominal trunk and pharynx) (Deochand et al., 2018).
^Ball, Ian R.; Reynoldson, T. B.; Warwick, T. (2009). "The taxonomy, habitat and distribution of the freshwater triclad Planaria torva (Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria) in Britain". Journal of Zoology. 157 (1): 99–123. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1969.tb01691.x. ISSN0952-8369.
^Reynoldson, T. B.; Sefton, A. D. (1976). "The food of Planaria torva (Müller) (Turbellaria-Tricladida), a laboratory and field study". Freshwater Biology. 6 (4): 383–393. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.1976.tb01623.x. ISSN0046-5070.
^Reynoldson, T. B.; Piearce, Bronwen (1979). "Predation on snails by three species of triclad and its bearing on the distribution of Planaria torva in Britain". Journal of Zoology. 189 (4): 459–484. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1979.tb03974.x. ISSN0952-8369.
Deochand, N., Costello, M. S., & Deochand, M. E. (2018). Behavioral Research with Planaria. Perspectives on behavior science, 41(2), 447–464. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-018-00176-w
