Planaria

[Polohob]

I simply wish to know the average lifespan of a planarian.
Anyone know or could, at least, direct me to where I might find this particular fact?
Evidently this information is not as common as I had anticipated.

::edit::

I suppose my question should be "Can a planarian die?"

 

[UnderWhelmed]

however long it takes for a bird to get it...

I searched on google to find the answer to your question but couldn't find anything. Maybe someone else will have better luck

 

[Polohob]

Ha ha. Thanks anyway.
So far all I have is that planaria can decrease in size, but whether or not they can die from that is beyond me.
And I suppose I should be more clear. So...
Can a planarian die if placed in an environment with sufficient water and food and no predators?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

deleted

 

[invert_nexus]

It's been shown that bacteria are not 'immortal'. That they there is an 'old' and a 'new' cell in each split and that eventually the mitosis slows and stops and the bacteria dies. So. I doubt a planaria would be any more immortal than our friend the bacteria.

Interesting that such a 'simple' aspect of one of the more well-known flatworms is unknown. I think that nobody's ever really cared about that. They've always been too caught up in their ability to regenerate to concentrate on such things.

Maybe you could make a name for yourself by filling in the blanks.

Edit:

And. While on the subject of planaria. Ever heard of the studies done on planaria learning tricks by eating the 'brains' of their dead buddies? I tried digging up some stuff on this a while back and really didn't find anything solid. The papers were in journals long ago that I don't have access to. But, if anyone knows about it and can point me somewhere with more information, I'd be grateful.