| Polycladus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Polycladus gayi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Order: | Tricladida |
| Family: | Geoplanidae |
| Genus: | Polycladus |
| Species: | P. gayi |
| Binomial name | |
| Polycladus gayi Blanchard, 1847 | |
| Synonyms | |
Geoplana gayiSchultze & Müller, 1857 | |
Polycladus is a genus of land planarians from South America, currently comprising a single species, Polycladus gayi, which occurs in the Valdivian Forest, Chile.
Polycladus is a very understudied genus of land planarians. It was defined as land planarians with a wide, flat and leaf-like body, having the entire ventral surface ciliated and with mouth and gonopore posteriorly shifted in relation to other land planarians. The copulatory apparatus has a well-developed permanent penis and the female canal enters the genital antrum ventrally. [1] This definition, however, is incomplete regarding all anatomical structures currently considered in the definition of planarian genera. [2]
In 2023, Polycladus was discovered preying on a black snail, Macrocyclis peruvianus, in the wild. [3]
The name Polycladus comes from Greek πολύ (many) + κλάδος (branch), referring to the branched intestine. Despite the name, Polycladus is not a species of the flatworm order Polycladida, but rather of Tricladida.
The specific epithet of the type-species, gayi, commemorates French naturalist Claude Gay. [4]
