Most turbellarians are carnivores, either preying on small invertebrates or protozoans, or scavenging on dead animals. A few feed on larger animals, including oysters and barnacles, while someare commensal on the gills of horseshoe crabs. Other species swallow cells of green alga and do not feed as adults, relying on the algae to provide nourishment (similar to corals).
Many turbellarians clone themselves by splitting their bodies into pieces and others reproduce by budding. All turbellarians are hermaphrodites, having both female and male reproductive organs, and fertilize eggs internally by copulating. Some of the larger aquatic species mate by "penis fencing", a duel in which each tries to fertilize the other, and the loser adopts the female role of developing the eggs. In most species "miniature adults" emerge when the eggs hatch, but a few large species produce plankton-like larvae.
|
|
