Obama anthropophila

Obama anthropophila is a species of Brazilian land planarian in the subfamily Geoplaninae. It is a very common land planarian in human-disturbed environments in southern and southeastern Brazil.[1]

Obama anthropophila
Obama anthropophila
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Platyhelminthes
Class:
Rhabditophora
Order:
Tricladida
Suborder:
Continenticola
Family:
Geoplanidae
Subfamily:
Geoplaninae
Genus:
Obama
Species:
O. anthropophila
Binomial name
Obama anthropophila
Amaral, Leal-Zanchet & Carbayo, 2015
Synonyms

Geoplana ladislavii sensu Froehlich, 1959 (in part)

Description

Obama anthropophila is a medium-sized land planarian with a lanceolate body. The largest specimens have a length of about 70 millimetres (2.8 in) or more. The dorsum varies from dark to light brown, becoming lighter towards the body margins. The ventral side is pale grey or brown and has a darker margin that is a continuation of the color of the dorsum.[1] It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Obama decidualis and Obama ladislavii, the main difference with the latter being the color.

Mature specimen of Obama anthropophila about to lay an egg case. The mature testes are clearly visible as two rows of irregular dark spots on the dorsum.

The numerous of eyes of O. anthropophila are distributed marginally on the first millimeters of the body and posteriorly become dorsal, occupying almost the entire body width at the median third. Posteriorly they become less numerous. The dorsal eyes are surrounded by a region without pigmentation (halo), which can be visible on darker individuals through fine inspection as a set of small light dots.[1]

On fully mature specimens, two irregular rows of spots with a darker tinge may be seen on the first half of the body. Those rows are the many dorsal testicles visible through the body.

Distribution

Obama anthropophila has been recorded in southern and southeastern Brazil, from São Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul. It is mainly found in human-disturbed environments and at the border of native subtropical forests.[2]

Diet

In the laboratory, O. anthropophila captures and consumes small land gastropods, including some agricultural pests, such as Bradybaena similaris, Cornu aspersum and Deroceras laeve.[3] It also feeds on other land planarians, such as Luteostriata abundans, which probably constitute its main native prey, and invasive species, such as Dolichoplana carvalhoi and Endeavouria septemlineata.[3][4] On rare occasions, it may even prey on other species of the same genus, such as Obama ladislavii.[3]

References
  1. Álvarez-Presas, Marta; Amaral, Silvana V.; Carbayo, Fernando; Leal-Zanchet, Ana M.; Riutort, Marta (2015). "Focus on the details: morphological evidence supports new cryptic land flatworm (Platyhelminthes) species revealed with molecules". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 15 (2): 379–403. doi:10.1007/s13127-014-0197-z. ISSN 1439-6092.
  2. Amaral, Silvana Vargas do; Hack, Ilana Rossi; Iturralde, Giuly Gouvêa; Leal-Zanchet, Ana Maria (2014). "Land Flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida) in Remnants of Deciduous Forest in the Northeast Region Of Southern Brazil". Biota Neotropica. 14 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1590/S1676-06020140045. ISSN 1676-0603.
  3. Boll, Piter Kehoma; Leal-Zanchet, Ana Maria (2016). "Preference for different prey allows the coexistence of several land planarians in areas of the Atlantic Forest". Zoology. 119: 162–168. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2016.04.002. ISSN 0944-2006.
  4. Boll, Piter K.; Rossi, Ilana; Amaral, Silvana V.; Leal-Zanchet, Ana (2015). "A taste for exotic food: Neotropical land planarians feeding on an invasive flatworm". PeerJ. 3: e1307. doi:10.7717/peerj.1307. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4614845. PMID 26500817.
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