Geoplana iporanga explained

Geoplana iporanga is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae.[1] It is found in areas of the Atlantic Forest within Intervales State Park in Brazil.

Description

Geoplana iporanga is a flatworm around 50 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 a melon yellow band running down the middle, which is flanked on each side by a black band, which is in turn bordered by a white band. The white band is longitudinally halved by a black line which fades as it approaches the posterior end. The ventral side is a white color with blackish margins.[2]

Along with its coloration, it can be distinguished from other members of Geoplana by a 2 mm anterior extension of the penis bulb from the penis papilla, sperm ducts that join inside the penis papilla, and a muscular cylinder around the ejaculatory duct with a diameter that is ten times that of the duct.

Etymology

The specific epithet is derived from the municipality of Iporanga, which is within Intervales State Park, the species' type locality.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Geoplana iporanga 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.