Dugesia sicula

Dugesia sicula is a species of dugesiid triclad that lives in freshwater bodies of the Mediterranean Basin, where it is widely distributed. It has been reported from Sicily,^[1] Elba and Mallorca,^[2] Eivissa,^[3] Sardinia,^[4] Algeria,^[5] Tunisia,^[6] Morocco^[7] and Crete.^[8]

Dugesia sicula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Platyhelminthes
Order:	Tricladida
Family:	Dugesiidae
Genus:	Dugesia
Species:	D. sicula
Binomial name
Dugesia sicula Lepori, 1948

Morphology

D. sicula individuals have an asymmetrical penis papilla, with a diaphragm at the base, separating the seminal vesicle from the ejaculatory duct. This duct is ventral and it opens subterminally. The seminal vesicle is wrapped by a thin layer of bulbar muscles. The penis papilla is weakly muscular and more parenchymatic.^[8]

Reproduction

D. sicula is known to reproduce sexual and asexually.^[1]

Phylogeny

D. sicula position in relation with other Dugesia species after the work of Lázaro et al., 2009:^[9]

Dugesia	D. sicula D. aethiopica D. japonica D. ryukyuensis D. notogaea D. bengalensis D. subtentaculata D. gonocephala D. liguriensis D. etrusca D. ilvana D. benazzii D. hepta