Geoplana caraguatatuba explained

Geoplana caraguatatuba is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae.[1] It is known from specimens found in Atlantic Forest within Caraguatatuba, Brazil.

Description

Geoplana caraguatatuba is a flatworm around 60 mm in length and 4 mm in width. The body has parallel margins; the front tip is rounded and the back tip is pointed. The dorsal side has an orange-ochre band running down the middle, bounded on each side by a black line, which joins at the back end; the line is bordered by a white stripe, which is in turn bordered by a black stripe that merges into a grey band with white mottling. A black line borders the margin. The ventral side is a whitish color with black margins.[2]

Along with its coloration, it can be distinguished from other members of Geoplana by the penis bulb extending anteriorly 0.8 mm from the penis papilla and the walls of the female atrium not being folded.

Etymology

The specific epithet is derived from the type locality of Caraguatatuba.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Geoplana caraguatatuba Ana Laura Almeida, Fernando P.L.Marques & Fernando Carbayo, 2019 . 2023-07-22 . www.gbif.org . en.
  2. Ana Laura Almeida and others, ‘Endless forms most beautiful’: taxonomic revision of the planarian Geoplana vaginuloides (Darwin, 1844) and discovery of numerous congeners (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 185, Issue 1, January 2019, Pages 1–65.