Cratera | |
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Cratera pseudovaginuloides | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
Order: | Tricladida |
Family: | Geoplanidae |
Subfamily: | Geoplaninae |
Genus: | Cratera Carbayo et al., 2013 |
Type species | |
Geoplana pseudovaginuloides Riester, 1938 |
Cratera is a genus of land planarians found in South America.
The genus Cratera is characterized by having a leaf-shaped body. Most species are between 3 and 7 cm long. The hundreds of eyes distributed along the body are monolobulated, i.e., simple and circular. The copulatory apparatus has a permanent conical penis occupying the entire male cavity. The final portion of the ejaculatory duct, the channel that guides sperm through the penis, has an expanded cavity that resembles a volcanic crater. It is very similar to the related genus Obama , the main difference being the presence of trilobulated eyes in the latter. [1]
The name Cratera is derived from the Latin word crater and refers to the cavity in the penis that resembles a volcanic crater.
There are 24 species assigned to the genus Cratera: