| Blue planarian | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Order: | Tricladida |
| Family: | Geoplanidae |
| Genus: | Caenoplana |
| Species: | C. coerulea |
| Binomial name | |
| Caenoplana coerulea Moseley, 1877 | |
Caenoplana coerulea, known as the blue planarian or blue garden flatworm is a species of land planarian.
This is a long narrow flatworm, which is shiny black or dark brown on the upper surface, and mid-blue underneath (hence the specific epithet and the common name of "blue planarian".) There is a narrow creamy/fawn or yellow coloured longitudinal stripe running down the center of the upper surface. Multiple eyespots are present. The head on some individuals has a pinkish appearance. The adult length is 6 to 12 cm.
This flatworm is native to Eastern Australia, however it has been accidentally introduced to New Zealand, [1] the Balearic Islands, [2] Argentina, [3] Canary Islands, [4] France, [5] U.K (Portsmouth) and the USA (including California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, South Carolina and Iowa). [6]
It is found in moist forest areas, and during drier periods it shelters under rocks, rotting logs and in leaf litter. It is often seen after periods of heavy rain.
This planarian is a predator of a variety of invertebrates on the forest floor. It is known to feed on several arthropod groups, such as woodlice, millipedes and earwigs, as well as on land snails. [3]
The complete mitogenome of Caenoplana coerulea is 18,621 bp in length. [7] Its main characteristic is a cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2 gene of unusual length, with a cox2 encoded protein 505 aa in length (compared to about 250 aa in other geoplanids); this characteristic of a very long cox2 is also found in other members of the subfamily Rhynchodeminae, to which Caenoplana coerulea belongs. [7]
Showing color variation and more detail
The New Zealand flatworm is a large land flatworm native to New Zealand. It can vary from 5 mm in length when hatched to approximately 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in mature adults.
Geoplanidae is a family of flatworms known commonly as land planarians or land flatworms.
Bipalium is a genus of large predatory land planarians. They are often loosely called "hammerhead worms" or "broadhead planarians" because of the distinctive shape of their head region. Land planarians are unique in that they possess a "creeping sole", a highly ciliated region on the ventral epidermis that helps them to creep over the substrate. Native to Asia, several species are invasive to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Some studies have begun the investigation of the evolutionary ecology of these invasive planarians.
Platydemus manokwari, also known as the New Guinea flatworm, is a species of large predatory land flatworm.
Platydemus is a genus of large predatory land planarians in the tribe Rhynchodemini.
Bipalium kewense, also known as the shovel-headed garden worm, is a species of large predatory land planarian with a cosmopolitan distribution. It is sometimes referred to as a "hammerhead flatworm" due to its half-moon-shaped head, but this name is also used to refer to other species in the subfamily Bipaliinae.
Bipalium adventitium, the wandering broadhead planarian, is a land planarian in the subfamily Bipaliinae. It has been accidentally introduced in the United States, where it is considered invasive.
Bipaliinae is a subfamily of land planarians found mainly in Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, although some species have been introduced worldwide.
Diversibipalium multilineatum is a species of large predatory land flatworm.
Caenoplanini is a tribe of land planarians in the subfamily Rhynchodeminae mostly found throughout the Australasian and Oceanian realms.
Caenoplana is a genus of land planarians from Australia and New Zealand.
Endeavouria is a monotypic genus of land planarians from the Pacific region. It contains a single species, Endeavouria septemlineata.
Amaga is a genus of land planarians from South America.
Obama nungara is a species of land planarian in the family Geoplanidae. It is native to South America, but has been introduced in Europe.
Marionfyfea adventor is a species of land planarian described in 2016 from specimens found in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France. However, since the species belongs to the genus Marionfyfea, of which the species are known only from subantarctic islands off New Zealand, it is probably an introduced species in Europe.
Kontikia is a genus of land planarians native from islands in the Indo-Pacific region, but several species have been introduced elsewhere.
Diversibipalium is a genus of land planarians of the subfamily Bipaliinae. It was erected to include species lacking sufficient morphological information to allow them to be classified in the appropriate genus.
Bipalium vagum, the wandering hammerhead worm, is a land planarian in the subfamily Bipaliinae. It has been accidentally introduced in the United States, Bermuda and various islands in the Caribbean and was recorded for the first time in Europe, in Italy, in 2021.
Australopacifica is a genus of land planarians of the tribe Caenoplanini. It was erected to include species lacking sufficient morphological information to allow them to be classified in the appropriate genus.
Vermiviatum covidum is a species of predatory land flatworm, found in France and Italy. The Holotype specimen is MNHN JL351B.
