Gigantea (flatworm)

Gigantea
Gigantea gigantea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Platyhelminthes
Order:	Tricladida
Family:	Geoplanidae
Subfamily:	Geoplaninae
Genus:	Gigantea Ogren & Kawakatsu, 1990
Type species
Geoplana gigantea von Graff, 1899

Gigantea is a genus of land planarians from the Neotropical realm.

Description

Species of Gigantea have a large, broad and flat body. The copulatory apparatus has a permanent penis and the ovovitelline ducts enter the female atrium from below. ^[1] This definition, however, is incomplete regarding the anatomical features currently considered in the definition of planarian genera and Gigantea is certainly a heterogeneous genus. ^[2]

Etymology

The name Gigantea (Latin for "giant") comes from the specific epithet, gigantea, of the type-species, originally described as Geoplana gigantea due to its large size. ^[1]

Species

Currently, there are 14 species assigned to the genus Gigantea:

• Gigantea bistriata (Hyman, 1962)
• Gigantea cameliae (Furhmann, 1912)
• Gigantea chiriquii (Hyman, 1962)
• Gigantea gigantea (von Graff, 1899)
• Gigantea gouvernoni Jones & Sterrer, 2005
• Gigantea idaia (Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1951)
• Gigantea maupoi Carbayo, 2008
• Gigantea montana (Hyman, 1939)
• Gigantea picadoi (de Beauchamp, 1912)
• Gigantea ronaldsluysi Carbayo, 2023 ^[3]
• Gigantea sandersoni (Prudhoe, 1949)
• Gigantea unicolor (Hyman, 1955)
• Gigantea urubambensis Negrete, Brusa & Carbayo, 2010
• Gigantea vongunteni (Fuhrmann, 1912)

References

1. Ogren, Robert E.; Kawakatsu, Masaharu (1990). "Index to the species of the family Geoplanidae (Turbellaria, Tricladida, Terricola) Part I: Geoplaninae". The Bulletin of Fuji Women's College. Series 2. 28: 79–166.
2. Carbayo, F. (2008). "A new species of land planarian of Gigantea Ogren and Kawakatsu, 1990 (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Terricola) from Colombia, with taxonomic remarks on the genus". Italian Journal of Zoology. 75 (1): 85–95. doi: 10.1080/11250000701693255 . ISSN   1125-0003.
3. Lago-Barcia, D., Álvarez-Presas, M., Riutort, M., Oceguera-Figueroa, A., Carbayo, F. (14 March 2023). "Phylogenetic relationships of the Geoplaninae land planarians (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) assessed with a total evidence approach, with the description of a new species of Gigantea". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 184 107750. Bibcode:2023MolPE.18407750L. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107750. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   36921695.