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Maricola

Maricola is a suborder of triclad flatworms including species that mainly inhabit salt water environments. However, some species are also known from freshwater or brackish waters.

Last revised
Jul 23, 2026
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≈ 2 min
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Maricola
Sabussowia ronaldi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Order: Tricladida
Suborder: Maricola
Hallez, 1892
Superfamilies

Maricola is a suborder of triclad flatworms including species that mainly inhabit salt water environments. However, some species are also known from freshwater or brackish waters.1

Taxonomy and phylogeny

History

The Maricola group was first proposed by Hallez in 1892. He recognized three families: Otoplanida, Procerodida and Bdellourida.2 Two years later, in 1884, Hallez renamed these families as Otoplanidae, Procerodidae and Bdellouridae.3 In 1906 Böhmig classified the Maricola in two families and five subfamilies: Procerodidae (Euprocerodinae, Cercyrinae, Micropharynginae) and Bdellouridae (Uteriporinae, Eubdellourinae). In 1909 Wilhelmi wrote a monograph on the group in which five families were described: Procerodidae, Uteriporidae, Cercyridae, Bdellouridae, Micropharyngidae.4 Von Graff used the same classification in 1916.5 In 1989 Sluys recognized the six present families on the basis of phylogenetic analyses of the whole group.6 However, recent molecular studies do not recover the currently established families.7

Classification

Current taxonomical classification:87

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic supertree after Sluys et al., 2009:8

Tricladida
References

References

  1. Ball, I. R. 1974. La Faune Terrestre de l'Ile de Saint Hélène: Turbellaria Tricladida. Ann. Mus. Roy. Afr. Centrale, in 8. Zool.
  2. Hallez, P. 1892. Catalogue des Turbellariés (Rhabdocoelides, Triclades et Dendrocoelides) du Nord de la France & de la Cote Boulonnaise. Rev Biol Nord Fra. 4:301-326; 338-350; 425-456.
  3. Hallez, P. 1894. Catalogue des Rhabdocoelides, Triclades & Polyclades du Nord de la France. 2nd ed. Lille (France): L. Daniel. 239 p. + 2 pls.
  4. Wilhelmi J. 1909. Triclade. Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapal 32. Berlin (Germany): R. Friedländer und Sohn. I-XII+405 pp.
  5. Von Graff L. 1912-17. Tricladida. In: Bronn HG, editor. Klassen und Ordnungen des Tier-Reichs, Bd. IV Vermes, Abt. IC: Turbellaria, II Abt.: Tricladida. Leipzig (Germany): C. F. Winter. p. 2601-3369 + 34 pls.
  6. Sluys, R. A monograph of the marine triclads. Rotterdam and Brookfield: A.A. Balkema. XII + 463 p.
  7. Sluys, Ronald; Vila-Farré, Miquel; Laumer, Christopher E. (2025). "Integrative delimitation of two new, meiobenthic species of flatworms from Panama, constituting two new genera of marine triclads (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Maricola)". Zootaxa. 5686 (4): 485–502. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5686.4.2.
  8. Sluys, R.; Kawakatsu, M.; Riutort, M.; Baguñà, J. (2009). "A new higher classification of planarian flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida)". Journal of Natural History. 43 (29–30): 1763–1777. Bibcode:2009JNatH..43.1763S. doi:10.1080/00222930902741669.