Dugesia japonica is a species of freshwater planarian that inhabits freshwater bodies of East Asia, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and northeastern Siberia.[2] However, molecular studies suggest that Dugesia japonica is polyphyletic and different populations across its area of occurrence constitute distinct species.[3]
Phylogeny
D. japonica position in relation with other Dugesia species after the work of Lázaro et al., 2009:[4]
A study was published in 2017 in which a Dugesia Japonica trunk fragment had been sent into space, and grew with two heads, one on either end of the trunk.[5] However, the influence of space conditions on this phenomenon is debated.[6]
^Kawakatsu, Masaharu; Oki, Iwashiro; Tamura, Sachiko (June 1995). "Taxonomy and geographical distribution of Dugesia japonica and D. ryukyuensis in the Far East". Hydrobiologia. 305 (1–3): 55–61. doi:10.1007/BF00036363. eISSN1573-5117. ISSN0018-8158.
^Solà, Eduard; Leria, Laia; Stocchino, Giacinta Angela; Bagherzadeh, Reza; Balke, Michael; Daniels, Savel R.; Harrath, Abdel Halim; Khang, Tsung Fei; Krailas, Duangduen; Kumar, Biju; Li, Mei-Hui; Maghsoudlou, Abdolvahab; Matsumoto, Midori; Naser, Niamul; Oben, Benedicta; Segev, Ori; Thielicke, Matthias; Tong, Xiaoli; Zivanovic, Goran; Manconi, Renata; Baguñà, Jaume; Riutort, Marta (19 May 2022). "Three dispersal routes out of Africa: A puzzling biogeographical history in freshwater planarians". Journal of Biogeography. 49 (7): 1219–1233. doi:10.1111/jbi.14371. eISSN1365-2699. hdl:2445/193751. ISSN0305-0270.
^Lázaro EM, Sluys R, Pala M, Stocchino GA, Baguñà J, Riutort M (September 2009). "Molecular barcoding and phylogeography of sexual and asexual freshwater planarians of the genus Dugesia in the Western Mediterranean (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Dugesiidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 52 (3): 835–45. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.04.022. PMID19435604.
